Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has inaugurated a 10-member taskforce for the establishment of the National Early Warning Centre in Ghana.
The Centre was inaugurated at the Jubilee House on Wednesday, May 13, 2020.
As part of its mandate, the Centre is to warn the Government of Ghana
of threats to human security.
It is also expected to propose appropriate action, and coordinate and ensure monitoring of the implementation of response to the warning as part of a broader effort by member States of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The ECOWAS Early Warning System, among other things, seeks to primarily guarantee human security and envisages the establishment of a fully integrated and functional early warning system within Member States.
The system is intended to provide timely reports and analysis for effective responses that will prevent and mitigate violent conflicts, among others, in the sub-region.
Members of the Task Force are drawn from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration; Defence; Interior; National Security; Health; Finance and Economic Planning; Justice and Attorney General; Gender, Children and Social Protection; and Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Chaired by Prof Joe Amoako-Tuffuor of the Office of the Vice President.
They were sworn in by His Lordship, Anthony Oppong, a Justice of the Appeal Court.
In a speech during the ceremony, Dr. Bawumia appealed to members of the Task Force to apply themselves diligently to “this very important national assignment.”
According to him,
“As we all know, an efficient and effective early warning and response mechanism will not only guarantee the needed security for our development, but would help us prevent wanton loss of lives, health crises like the Covid 19, Ebola and the rest, humanitarian disasters, environmental calamities, among others.”
He says “The establishment of Centres across the region is undoubtedly crucial if Member States are going to be able to effectively tackle the numerous challenges that confront them in a coordinated and effective manner.”
“With the establishment of national centres, ECOWAS Member States will be able to share information, implement conflict prevention, and manage crises, while protecting human security at national and regional levels,” he added.
The project for the establishment of National Early Warning Centres received the support of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government during the regional bloc’s 45th Ordinary Session held in Accra on July 14, 2014.
ECOWAS Commission formed National Centres for the Coordination of the Response Mechanism (NCCRM) in five pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Liberia) between 2015-2019.
By Melvin Tarlue