Accra-Ghana, Dec. 07, GNA – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Ghana has presented office furniture worth thousands of Ghana cedis to the National Peace Council (NPC) at a ceremony in Accra.
The furniture, which includes eight Swivel chairs, 16 visitor chairs, four steel cabinets and eight office tables, would be given to the four newly created regions.
The regions are North-East, Bono East, Western North and Oti.
Speaking at the presentation, Mr Sukhrob Khoshmukhamedov, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Ghana said the donation was in line with achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16.
SDG 16 seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels.
Mr Khoshmukhamedov said the UNDP had been instrumental in the journey of the NPC, adding that since 2004, it had facilitated the establishment of the Northern Regional Peace Advisory Council (NORPAC) to support the peace process in Dagbon.
According to him, the success of NORPAC led to the creation of National Peace Architecture, including the passage of Legislation leading to the establishment of the National Peace Council.
He said the UNDP had also witnessed the “excellent work” the Council had undertaken over the years and added that the UNDP would continue to be an ardent supporter and partner of the NPC and its operations.
The Deputy Resident Representative said the UNDP had lent a lot of support to the NPC to operationalize the Peace Fund, which had been a great tool to raise resources from all stakeholders including the private sector in promoting peace in the country.
He said NPC also benefitted from more support in strengthening staff and council members’ capacity in delivering on their mandate and raising awareness on the prevention of violent extremism through early warning mechanisms, among others.
Mr Khoshmukhamedov said the UNDP was elated to see that the NPC was expanding to reach many more areas in its bid to strengthen social cohesion and ensure peace.
He was optimistic that the furniture would help provide a conducive environment and promote the Council’s peace-building initiatives across the country.
“Our support to the Peace Council aims to improve its capacity to deal with the changing dynamics of conflict and work towards a united country focused on a common goal.
“UNDP will continue to play its leading role in supporting the development of inclusive accountability and resilient institutions such as the Peace Council as it is the only pathway to lasting peace and prosperity,” he added.
Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu-Gyamfi, Chairman, NPC who received the office furniture expressed gratitude to the UNDP for the enormous support for Ghana’s peacebuilding efforts over the years.
“UNDP has over the year partnered the National Peace Council in the execution of our core mandate of preventing, managing and resolving conflicts and building sustainable peace in Ghana.”
The NPC Chairman mentioned UNDP’s support to include capacity building programmes, funding of projects, and purchase of key office equipment; the latest being the procurement of desktop computers, laptops, printers, and scanners in the year 2021.
Dr Adu-Gyamfi was optimistic that the relationship between the NPC and UNDP would grow stronger.
