Work with Regional Peace Councils to Resolve Conflicts

The National� Peace Council (NPC) has urged District Chief Executives whose areas have dynamics of conflict situations to work with the Regional Peace Councils to adopt appropriate conflict resolution mechanisms to resolve them amicably. ���� Mr. Francis Azuimah, Executive Secretary NPC said effective collaboration among district assemblies, the regional coordinating councils and the regional peace councils could enhance the timely resolution of disputes before they degenerated into conflict situations. ��� The Executive Secretary was addressing members of the Upper West Regional Peace Council at a workshop in Wa to build their capacity on mediation, negotiation and dialoguing. ���� Mr. Azuimah urged traditional rulers and other authorities in the communities to ensure transparency and accountability in their dealings and operations to build trust among the people. ���� He expressed the council�s gratitude to the regional peace council, the regional coordinating council and other stakeholders, who worked behind the scenes to resolve the land conflict in Wa. ���� He also applauded the Regional Minister, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana for providing the council with logistics and financial support to operate effectively in the region. ���� Alhaji Sulemana said social and economic indicators had shown that the region was a deprived one and needed absolute peace to harness its resources to reduce poverty. ���� He said it was rather worrying that the three regions in the north considered as the poorest in Ghana, had chosen the path of conflicts instead of peace as a choice. ���� �Conflicts in the north had caused governments to channel resources for peacekeeping and conflict management purposes to the detriment of development projects�, he lamented.� ���� Alhaji Sulemana said the workshop had come at the right time to build the capacity of its members on mediation, negotiation and dialoguing, which he described as the best alternatives and practices that had been tested to bring satisfaction in most cases to all parties involved in conflict situations. ���� �The courts leaves trails of disagreements and scars among people involved in conflict situations, which cannot be covered�, he said. ����� Chieftaincy and land disputes are the dominant conflict areas in the region.