In all, four Former African Presidents are expected to participate in a two-day security forum to be organised by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), to discuss and explore long-term solutions to emerging security threats on the continent.
Goodluck Ebele Jonathan
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma
John Dramani Mahama
The forum, which is expected to take place in Accra, at the KAIPTC from December 8 to 9, 2021, will bring together Former President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf; Former President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma; Former President of Ghana, John Dramani Mahama, and Former President of Nigeria, Good luck Jonathan.
The high profile forum will have in attendance about 200 security experts across the world, with Ghana’s President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is also Chairman of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), as the Guest Speaker.
The Head of Peace and Security Studies of KAIPTC, Mr Ernest Lartey, made this known at the media launch of this year’s Kofi Annan Peace and Security (KAPS) forum in Accra.
He said among the topics to be discussed are the challenge and prospects of balancing democracy with countering violent extremism, challenge and prospects of balancing democracy with pandemic management, entrenching constitutionalism and ensuring free and fair elections.
The Commandant of KAIPTC, Major General Francis Ofori, said coups like that of Mali and Guinea have become rare, as prescribed by ECOWAS and the African Union.
He said the region has experienced a worrying erosion of democratic norms and principles which inversely has led to shrinking confidence in state commitment to core principles of democratic governance.
The Programme Manager of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Mr Hannes Lambrecht, noted that the Federal Government of Germany, through GIZ, would provide both technical and financial support to the KAPS forum.
He said the forum would provide the platform to reflect on critical questions and eventually explore solutions for further uptake and regional policies.
BY BERNARD BENGHAN & GLORIA NSIAH MINTAH