The Eastern Regional Minister, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey, has called for school violence and student hooliganism to be considered in Ghana’s revised National Security Strategy, following recent violent clashes involving senior high school students in the region.
According to her, the review should make provisions for stronger punitive measures against students involved in acts of violence and hooliganism.
She said the recent clash between students of Okuapeman Senior High School and Mount Sinai Senior High School which led to arson attacks and destruction of properites highlights the need for the country’s security framework to recognise violent incidents in schools as a potential national security concern.
The Minister said such incidents should serve as a wake-up call for stakeholders to rethink how violence in educational institutions is addressed.
” The recent clash between Okuapemman SHS and Mount Sinai SHS here in the Eastern Region should awake our desire to review the strategy and make provisions for stronger punitive actions against students involved in such hooliganism”
This engagement has therefore come at an important time. It offers the opportunity to examine the security environment from the perspective of our region, identify threats and vulnerabilities that require greater attention and propose practical and sustainable responses.
Speaking at a regional stakeholder engagement on the review of the 2020 National Security Strategy in Koforidua, Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey said the evolving nature of security threats requires the revised strategy to address emerging challenges at the community level.
“We are confronted with emerging concerns such as cybercrime, cyber threats, illegal mining, influx of nationals from the sub-region, farmer-herder skirmishes and violent extremism.”
She stressed that these threats have the potential to undermine Ghana’s peace, stability and development.
Rita Akosua Adjei Awatey further argued that the National Security Strategy review should not be confined to the national level but must incorporate the experiences and realities of communities across the country.
“At the regional level, these threats may manifest in ways that are unique to our communities. It is therefore important that the review of the National Security Strategy does not become a national-level exercise but takes into account the realities and experiences of communities across the country.”
The Technical/Intelligence Aide to the National Security Coordinator, Baku Mohammed, also noted that Ghana’s security landscape has changed significantly since the 2020 strategy was introduced.
He identified violent extremism, illicit arms, narcotics, human trafficking, communal and chieftaincy disputes, cyberattacks and the spread of falsehoods through social media among the emerging threats.
He added that climate change has also become a security issue requiring urgent attention.
The stakeholder engagement in Koforidua forms part of a nationwide consultation by the National Security Council Secretariat to gather views from all 16 regions for the preparation of a revised National Security Strategy.
The consultations are expected to help develop a strategy that is inclusive, practical and responsive to Ghana’s changing security environment.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
