Nkonya And Alavanyo Must Stop Blame Game

Mr Clemence Gyato, a Peace Ambassador has challenged the chiefs and people of Nkonya and Alavanyo in the Volta Region to stop the �blame game� and demonstrate an unwavering desire for peace in the area. �We need a fresh beginning. We are tired of the �these people started it�. We can�t keep going to bed at 18:00 hours and our fowls and animals sleeping at 20:00 hours,� he said. The two traditional areas are engaged in a land dispute spanning over 90 years. Mr Gyato was addressing the chiefs and elders of Nkonya at a peace session organized by the Volta Regional Peace Council, with support from the Regional Coordinating Council at Nkonya and Alavanyo to mark this year�s United Nation�s International Day of Peace on Monday. The session was on the theme, �Partnership for Peace-Dignity for All.� Mr Gyato said the youth of the two traditional areas wanted to experience the beauty of living together. He noted that, the continuous killing of people from both sides was bringing untold hardship and a curse to the younger generation, because they inter-marry and have blood relations. Mr Gyato said it was not surprising that the academic results of pupils and students in both areas were getting poorer, saying that, it was time the two areas welcomed a new beginning. Madam Helen Adjoa Ntoso, the Volta Regional Minister, blamed �shadow actors� for the cause of the sporadic shooting incidents in the area. �We all know there is no conflict here. It is only a few shadow actors, who are singing these songs for their selfish interests. We are tracking them and God will soon expose them,� she stated. Madam Ntoso said women and children were the most affected during such misunderstandings and conflicts, and charged them to report people bent on fomenting trouble for peace to prevail in the area. She said until peace prevails in the area, investors would shy away from the district and urged the chiefs and people of the two areas to work towards total peace before the end of 2015. The Chiefs and elders from both areas signed a peace flag after the session, demonstrating their desire for peace in the area. Meanwhile, GNA investigations revealed that though the area has been calm in the past few weeks, the situation is unpredictable. Reprisal attacks and shooting incidents are normally recorded after few weeks of relative peace in the area, with people from both areas showing some concern for peace, but suspicious of each other.