KAIPTC celebrates 20 years of peace-keeping, training and building

By Konrad Kodjo DJAISI

Major-General Richard Addo Gyane, Commandant of Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), stated that twenty years in the life of any organisation must be time enough to recall its momentous beginnings, the corridors it has traversed on its journey to attain its current status and stature, and to set new targets for its vision and goals.

He observed that some twenty years ago the idea was mooted within Military High Command circles for Ghana to solidify the gains of its internationally-acclaimed peacekeeping efforts with the establishment of an institution that would encapsulate lessons learnt from those experiences.

“Thus was born the concept, foundation, tenets and all the ideas that were to blossom into what we now know as the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), where peace begins.”

Consequently, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) established the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in 1998 and commissioned it in 2004.

The Centre is one of three (3) Peacekeeping Training Centres of Excellence mandated by ECOWAS to offer training on peacekeeping and Peace Support Operations (PSO) in Africa.  Commandant Major-General Gyane made this known prior to the KAIPTC 20th anniversary launch.

It was under the theme ‘Reflecting on the KAIPTC’s Journey and its Contribution to Peace and Security Efforts in Africa and Beyond’, on October 31 at the KAIPTC Auditorium.

Commandant Gyane said the Centre has progressed from only delivering training courses in three thematic areas – Peace Support Operations, Conflict Management and Peace and Security Studies – to running Masters and PhD versions of these thematic areas.

“The Masters and PhD programmes’ overall objective is to equip students with effective tools for analytical thinking, good judgment, leadership and other critical managerial skills in the Peace and Security field,” he added.

KAIPTC also boasts a world-class Research Department that undertakes research in the thematic areas in Peace and Security, he noted.

To date, KAIPTC has trained and tutored over 25,000 participants and students made up of military, police and civilian personnel since its inception.

Last Year (2023), it expanded and elevated the former Women Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) into a Department – and added the critical component of Youth to its operations.  The new Department is therefore called the Women, Youth Peace and Security Institute.

The history of KAIPTC can never be complete without due recognition of the dedication, interest and support of partners and other stakeholders in championing the Centre’s cause in more ways than one.

“Since its inception, the government of Ghana and partners have kept faith with the Centre’s aims and aspirations by devoting crucial financial support for both infrastructural development and running courses.

Let me especially mention the governments of Germany, Norway, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Japan, France, Austria, the United Kingdom and United States, as well as the European Union, ECOWAS and UNDP for making it possible for us to run courses that continue to shape mindsets and set the tone for peace support operations on the continent.”

It is worth mentioning that some of these partners, including Nigeria, have even gone a step further by seconding Officers to serve in the Training Department as Course Directors.

“We are currently in the process of starting an undergraduate school programme close to the current premises, and we also intend to expand our accommodation space by constructing a KAIPTC Hotel to take care of students and resource personnel.”

The Commandant used the occasion to pay glowing tribute to his predecessors – “Like the then-Brig. Gen. CB Yaache, the first Commandant of this institution who later became Major General CB Yaache; the COAS, Brig. Gen. GLA Ayi Bonte; Brig. Gen. DH Mankattah. Maj. Gen. Attipoe; Air Vice Marshal CEK Dovlo; the then-Maj. Gen. OB Akwa who later became Lieutenant-General OB Akwa; and Chief of the Defence Staff, AVM GS Evans; and Maj. Gen. Francis Ofori, my predecessor”.

The post KAIPTC celebrates 20 years of peace-keeping, training and building appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.

Read Full Story