PEACE BUILDING IN THE GREATER ACCRA SCRAP DEALERS ASSOCIATION

Introduction

Oeko-Institut has been commissioned by the GIZ to carry out the project Lot 3 - Enhancing capacities of informal sector stakeholders; incentive & payment system for e-waste recovery. The Lot 3 project is part of the technical cooperation programme which aims to support the Ghanaian Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in improving the conditions for sustainable management and disposal of e-waste in Ghana. The technical cooperation is expected to contribute towards developing a sustainable e-waste management system that reduces environmental and social hazards and improves economic livelihoods of the people involved in the informal sector.

Mountain Research Institute (MRI) is contracted by Oeko-Institut as the local consultant for the implementation of Enhancing the organizational capacities of the informal e-waste sector stakeholders in Ghana among other tasks. MRI intends to use part its budgetary allocation to engage a consultant or consultancy firm to support efforts aimed at Conflict Resolution and Peace Building at the Agbogbloshie scrap yard.

Background

Greater Accra Scrap Dealers Association (GASDA) has been bedeviled with political and ethnic interferences as well as conflicts since 2000. Information available and field observation reveal that anytime there was change in government, scrap dealers who support the ruling party forcefully evict their colleagues who support the losing party from the scrapyard. This happened after the 2008 and 2016 elections respectively. Additionally, the scrap yard has been turned into proxy battlefield for conflicts happening in the Northern parts of Ghana. Anytime there was conflict in the Northern part of Ghana, the scrap yard became the battleground. This has made it nearly impossible for projects that run in Agbogbloshie to have a security of tenure.

In enhancing the organizational capacities of informal scrap dealers using the Greater Accra Scrap Dealers Association as the case study, a number of issues need to be addressed. These include the following;

what is the current state of GASDA?
what is the future direction of GASDA and how can trusts be built and sustained?
how can GASDA as an association be strengthened and insulated from political and ethnic violence?
how can the leadership skills of GASDA executives be built in order to enhance their capacity to manage the association?
how can effective, efficient and sustainable registration system for GASDA be achieved?

In achieving all the objectives enumerated above, a number of programme activities have been employed to address each objective. However, this concept note focuses specifically on objective 3; ‘how can GASDA as an association be strengthened and insulated from political and ethnic violence?’

Proposed Intervention

The GIZ E-Waste programme, on behalf of the German Government, undertakes measures to make the Association resilient and devoid of the perennial political and ethnic violence. In this course the need for some peacebuilding interventions has become very paramount. To this end, efforts at peace building initiatives will require conflict resolution and mediation skills from expert trainer(s).

In this process selected members of the association (about 50) will go through a training to serve as Peace Champions for the association. This will capacitate the members to proactively identify conflict stressors and find the means of regulating and even preventing future violent escalations. This initiative will enable the members develop coping strategies and overcome negative influences that affect the sustainability of the association.

Targeted capacity building could help the Peace Champion to foster violent-free communication, conflict resolution and a peaceful co-operation in this unique situation.

Demographics and Medium of Instruction

Majority of the persons to be trained are between the ages of 35 and 50, mostly men, with very low educational background. In view of this complexity, it is expected that the medium of instruction for the training will be in their local dialect, preferably ‘Dagbani’ so as to ensure that the message is well received and the desired outcome achieved.

Scope of work

The scope of work under this terms of reference are;

Design training models and training materials for training the Peace Champions in areas such as conflict identification, early warning, conflict management, peacebuilding and such other areas as the consultant may deem necessary;
Conduct training based on the models designed for about 50 people selected by MRI and GASDA taking into consideration the demographics
Certificate of completion awarded to all participants after training
Provide technical backstopping for issues that may within three months after the training.

Deliverable

A brief report including pictures after each training
Final report for the assignment capturing lessons learnt and recommendations
Training manuals adapted for the trainees
Certification of participation to all trainees who successfully completed the course