The Upper West Regional Peace Council has engaged 11 Municipal and District
Chief Executives (MDCEs) on conflict sensitivities to help tackle local conflicts and maintain a peaceful communal environment for economic development.
The MDCEs were taken
through various topics including benchmarks for conflict and peace-building as
well as investigating conflicts – their causes, impact, consequences as well as
preventive and resolution techniques.
In a speech read on
his behalf at the opening session of the two-day training in Wa, Dr Hafiz
Bin-Salih, the Upper West Regional Minister, said though there were occasional
security concerns, the region was relatively peaceful.
He lauded the Peace
Council for the training adding that there is the urgent need to put in place
early warning mechanisms ahead of the 2020 general elections to prevent any
conflict situation.
The Minister called
on MDCEs to watch out in their attempts to ensure lasting peace in the
assemblies as their actions or inactions could create a conflict
situation.
Bishop Sowa Boi-Nai,
a member of the National Peace Council, said the engagement was in fulfilment
of Council’s mandate to facilitate and develop mechanisms to prevent, manage,
resolve and build sustainable peace in the country.
“It is the fervent
hope of the Council that this engagement would institutionalise the process of
conflict resolution through dialogue and mediation at the grassroots,” he said.
As heads of the
security committees in the municipal and district assemblies, the MDCEs play
crucial role in resolving conflicts in their respective localities, he said.
Bishop Boi-Nai
expressed the optimism that the training platform provided would deepen
collaboration with the Regional Peace Council (RPC) to enhance sustainable
peace.
“The task of
peace-building is a long and laborious one requiring integrity, fairness,
impartiality and confidentiality,” he said.
The MDCEs were
entreated to discharge their mandate effectively and efficiently to promote
harmonious co-existence and communal peace among citizens.
The Bishop also
emphasised the RPC’s crucial role in preventing and managing conflict dynamics
to ensure social cohesion and promote local development.
“Many conflicts are
local based, requiring local early warning mechanisms as well as local human
and material resources,” he said.
These mechanisms
seek to help peacemakers promptly respond to causes and effects of chieftaincy,
land, ethnic, religious, political and communal conflicts undermining social
and economic progress in the region.
Bishop Boi-Nai
called for bold and decisive action to properly demarcate lands and register
them as well as document chieftaincy succession plans as part of the robust
measures to deal with root causes of conflicts in the country.
He also called for
proper attention for victims of violent conflicts as part of finding lasting
solutions to Ghana’s conflict problem.
Reverend Dr Aloysius
Nuolabong, Chairman of the Upper West RPC, in a speech read on his behalf by
the RPC Executive Secretary Mr Emmanuel Danyomah, said more than 20 conflict
hotspots have been identified in the 11 municipalities and districts of the
Region.
Sissala East
Municipal, Wa Municipal and Sissala West District are in the lead while
Nadowli-Kaleo, Nandom, Wa East districts and Jirapa Municipal “seem to be doing
better”.
Dr Allosius said:
“These [conflict] situations, when allowed to degenerate into violence will
deal a devastating blow to the peace as well as the socio-economic development
of the region”.
He appealed to both
central and local government authorities to continue to stand with the peace
council in peace building to consolidate the economic gains chalked out over
the years.
He also appealed for
an office space to accommodate personnel of the RPC to be able to discharge
their work more effectively.

GNA