The National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) has secured a one million euro grant from the European Union to provide the most vulnerable communities in Ghana with the necessary tools to curb electoral violence as the country heads to the polls.
Head of the EU delegation to Ghana, H.E. Ambassador Diana Acconcia said the grant which forms part of an extended project of almost six million euros is to help prevent violence and counter extremism in the northern part of Ghana.
She said the project is aimed at “encompassing the respect of human rights and human dignity, both central to all key EU strategies.”
Ambassador Acconcia, who launched the Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana (NORPREVSEC) project in Accra on Thursday, November 26, said the grant provided will help the NCCE coordinate efforts for a peaceful election.
According to her, it will also help address various security threats in Ghana’s five regions in the north during and after the general elections.
“It will contain the rise of violent extremism and prevent radicalization through enhancing key actors’ capacities in early warning, conflict resolution, counter-terrorism and fight against transnational organized crime, while promoting respect of human rights and rule of law,” she said.
The Head of EU delegation also stated that it is important for the NCCE to engage with the young people in the north of Ghana because many of them are at risk of getting involved in violent crimes during these times.
“The role of NCCE is so crucial in this scheme. A well-educated and empowered society, fully aware of its rights and capable of resolving its internal differences in amicable and peaceful manner, can move itself away from dangers of radicalization and of the rise of violence.”
Deputy Chairman in-charge of Operations of the National Commission for Civic Education, Samuel Asare Akuamoah who spoke at the launch said the Commission had been intensifying its citizenship engagement by reactivating the Inter-Party Dialogue Committees (IPDCs) and holding parliamentary candidates’ debates to ensure that citizens are well-informed.
He acknowledged that the grant will be of great help to them in providing logistics for the Commission to fight and prevent electoral violence.
