The Country Director of COGINTA-Ghana, Rev. Fr. Clement Aapengnuo Mweyang, has called for renewed investment in peacebuilding across Northern Ghana, warning that the region’s development aspirations will remain elusive unless governments, traditional authorities, religious institutions and civil society sustain their commitment to preventing violent conflict.
Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 4th Peace and Development Conference in Damongo on Wednesday, Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo said the painful lessons of Northern Ghana’s history demonstrate that peace is the indispensable foundation for development.
The conference, organised by the Centre for Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies (CECOTAPS), is being held under the theme: “Transforming the Peace and Security Landscape in Northern Ghana: The Role of the Centre for Conflict Transformation and Peace Studies.”
The event brought together the Catholic Bishop of Damongo, security officials, representatives of the National Peace Council, traditional rulers, religious leaders, civil society organisations and peace practitioners.
Speaking on the topic, “The Story of CECOTAPS,” Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo traced the Centre’s origins to the violent ethnic conflicts that plagued Northern Ghana from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
He said at least 26 documented ethnic conflicts occurred across the northern regions between 1980 and 2002, with the 1994/95 conflict alone claiming more than 2,000 lives, displacing over 200,000 people and destroying 441 communities.
According to him, the scale of the devastation convinced the Catholic Church that development and evangelisation could not flourish without lasting peace.
He explained that following the creation of the Catholic Diocese of Damongo in 1995, the Diocese commissioned a socio-economic and pastoral survey with support from the University of Ghana and ActionAid. The findings led to the establishment of the Unity Centre in Damongo, which became the Church’s first structured response to conflict in the area.
Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo said the initiative later evolved into the Northern Ghana Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Project through a partnership between the Catholic Diocese of Damongo and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in 1999 before growing into CECOTAPS, Ghana’s first institution dedicated to conflict transformation and peace studies.
Reviewing the Centre’s impact over the past 25 years, he said CECOTAPS has trained more than 6,000 traditional leaders, local government officials, women, youth and development practitioners in peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
He added that the Centre has played significant roles in mediation and dialogue efforts in major conflicts, including those in Bawku, Dagbon, Bimbilla, Wa, Yendi, Daboya, Tamale and Zaare.
Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo also credited CECOTAPS with helping to establish the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP-Ghana) and contributing to the processes that culminated in the creation of the National Peace Council.
He described the Catholic Church’s approach to peacebuilding as one rooted in human dignity and reconciliation rather than political interests.
“The Church came to peacebuilding not because of donor funding or political interests, but because it regarded peace as a pastoral responsibility and a prerequisite for development,” he said.
Despite its achievements, Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo acknowledged that CECOTAPS has faced challenges, including dependence on project-based funding, governance constraints, staff turnover at satellite peace centres and difficulties in translating individual transformation into broader community change.
He, however, described the challenges as part of the growing pains of an institution that pioneered faith-based peacebuilding in Ghana.
To secure the Centre’s future, he called for stronger institutional governance, diversified funding sources and deeper collaboration with traditional authorities, security agencies, civil society organisations and the private sector.
He also urged stakeholders to safeguard the Church’s moral authority by ensuring that its peacebuilding work remains above partisan political and ethnic interests.
Rev. Fr. Aapengnuo concluded by reminding participants that peacebuilding is a continuous responsibility rather than a one-off intervention.
He said the transformation of CECOTAPS from a modest peace resource room in Damongo into a nationally recognised institution demonstrates what sustained commitment to dialogue and reconciliation can achieve, urging all stakeholders to uphold its founding principle that every person deserves dignity, justice and lasting peace.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
