Kofi Ampeah Woode
Security agencies have been called upon to reinforce the creation of relations among personnel and their institutions, as an important precondition to the effective management of any crisis situation, since the effective management of conflicts and crisis goes beyond one agency.
“This calls for the understanding of the role and contribution each agency brings to the table. Be reminded that we are all working towards a common cause. Therefore, respect each other’s role and collaborate effectively”, Mr Kwame Gyan – an astute Ghanaian legal practitioner – made the call as Guest of Honour at the closing ceremony of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College’s (GAFCSC) 2023 Conflict and Crisis Management Course (CCMC), on Friday 21 July 2023.
The two-week training was organized at Ghana’s Military College – an Accredited Tertiary Institution – to build the capacity of responders to prevent, effectively manage conflicts, expose participants to difficulties faced as managers, and chart workable solutions to address the myriad of related challenges.
Mr Gyan said the CCMC helps in developing the understanding of the human, ethical and moral dimensions of conflict and crisis management, as conflicts and crisis situations leave countries in a state of shock amidst limited resources, with victims becoming vulnerable and deprived, and people who have lost their loved ones being devastated.
He stressed that at times of conflict and crises management, that is when there is the need to exhibit a high sense of human, ethical and moral standards of integrity, before, during and after, in handling resources, application of force, handling of victims and suspects, and the management of information, to ensure an honest management of the situation.
The Ghanaian legal luminary said conflicts, crisis and disasters of any form cause huge disruptions in national development, citing Ghana, where he said, in addition to the loss of lives and properties, huge sums of money are diverted into addressing the perennial conflicts and crisis such as chieftaincy, ethnic and religious conflicts, disasters such as flooding, fires and building collapses, as well as illegal small-scale mining, popularly referred to as Galamsey.
Present at the ceremony included GAFCSC’s Commandant – Major General Irvine Ayittey Aryeetey, Deputy Commandant – Brigadier General Abass Seidu, Assistant Commandant – Air Commodore Eric Yirenkyi, Dean and Director of Academic Affairs – Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, Chief Coordinator – Colonel Maxwell Mantey, Directors, Senior Research Fellows, Chief Instructors, Directing Staff, and course participants.
By Kofi Ampeah-Woode
