Residents of selected border communities in Ghana’s Upper East region have identified among other interventions, the promotion of dialogue between community members and border security agencies, as well as the provision of livelihood support schemes as effective strategies for strengthening border management and building resilience. This comes in the wake of threats of radicalization and infiltration by violent extremists whose attacks have been recorded in countries sharing close borders with Ghana. These proposals were proffered at inception meetings on the implementation of the Community Cohesion and the Community Livelihoods Empowerment Projects organized by STAR-Ghana Foundation with funding from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Some participants at the event
The projects, targeted at six selected border communities aim to establish dialogue platforms for discussing and resolving saliant security threats and community development needs challenges, develop roadmaps for mainstreaming human security and community engagements into National Border Security Strategies, provide small-scale livelihood enhancement projects as a base for addressing socio-economic needs and as a rallying point for building communal and social cohesion and resilience against border security threats..
Ghana’s neighbours in the West African sub-region have recorded series of attacks by extremists and insurgent groups that have spread from the Sahel, and now putting all littoral west African states including Ghana under severe vulnerability. This has prompted fears of possible infiltration and/or radicalization of at-risk and vulnerable residents of the border communities exposed to these elements due to proximity and trade relations.
A participant making a comment during the event
Paga, Namoo, Mognori, Pulmakum, Pusiga and Kulungungu have been designated as project communities for a duration of one year. Participants and prospective beneficiaries of the IOM Ghana sponsored projects were drawn from traditional, religious, women leaders, security agencies, trader groups, border security and other state agencies and youth groups among others in the selected communities. During the inception meeting in Paga at the Kassena Nankana West District of the Upper East Region, District Chief Executive for the area Gerard Ataogye expressed excitement about the intervention and assured the Foundation and IOM Ghana of the assembly’s unwavering support to ensuring the successful implementation of the project.
A security officer shares her views at the event
Heads of the Security agencies in the districts also pledged their commitment to collaborating with community members with support of the projects to secure border communities particularly, and the country at large.