[ 2017-02-11 ]

Prof Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu, speaking to some officials at the 2nd Annual Peace Lecture.

‘Guard peace in the country’ - Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu
A senior lecturer at the University of Ghana
Faculty of Law, Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, has
called on Ghanaians to guard jealously the peace
the country is enjoying.

She said peace was a priceless and fragile
commodity which must keenly be guarded. “There
is the need to properly relate with people,
especially in the post-election period to avoid
conflict,” she advised.

Prof. Mensa-Bonsu made the call at the Second
Annual Peace Lecture organised by the Rotary Club
of Accra West, in collaboration with the Institute
for Democratic Governance (IDEG), in Accra last
Wednesday.

Emphasising peace as a critical basis for national
development, the law professor said; "This is why
there is always the need to nurture peace. We
should not wait till the need arises for peace
before we go for it."

Prof. Mensa-Bonsu, who was the guest speaker at
the event, spoke on the theme; “Growing our
peace - peace management and humanitarian
action.”

Technological advancement

Prof. Mensa-Bonsu further explained that the
creation of a new sense of community - social
media - had enhanced access to information on the
global plane.

She indicated that technology had enhanced the
concept of freedom of association such that
persons in far-away areas could bring pressure to
bear on political office holders to respond to
particular concerns.

“Politicians can reach their electorate in chat
rooms by tweets, and so eliminate those who block
access to office holders for their own political
gains,” she added.

Prof. Mensa-Bonsu noted that although the
technological world had created avenues for
governments to find solutions to problems, there
was still the need to include civil society
organisations in promoting dialogue on peace.

“The concept of conflict management explains
that conflict is dynamic and must be assisted, but
can not completely be eliminated,” she noted.

Consequently, she advised the government and civil
society groups to build more strategies to solve
conflicts.

Peace management

In an interview after the ceremony, the General
Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev.
Dr Kwabena Opuni-Frimpong, suggested that national
reconciliation should be made a permanent feature
in national politics to promote peace.

He expressed concern that many civil society
organisations had stopped spreading the word of
peace after the election, which, he said, was
counter productive.

“I realised that many people have grievances
over the years and so they are now retaliating.

“They just wait for an opportunity to express
the pain that has been within them for some
years,” he said, adding that that was why there
was the need for national reconciliation to become
a permanent feature in the body politic of the
country.

Source - Graphic.com.gh

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