Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister has asked the reconstituted Volta Regional Peace Council to take “keen interest” in the “conflict of ideas” that had greeted the creation of Oti Region and help resolve the issues.
He asked the Council to create a platform for “aggrieved individuals to reconcile their divergent ideas within acceptable societal norms and rules.”
Dr. Letsa said this at the inauguration of a 13-member reconstituted Peace Council in Ho, under the chairmanship of Reverend Seth Kwesi Mawutor, who represented the Christian Council.
Members of the Council include; Most Rev. Gabriel Ababio Mante, Catholic Bishops Conference, Rev. Joseph Senyo Pongo, Ghana Pentecostal Council, Lady Rev. Charity Agbley, National Council for Christian and Charismatic Churches, and Mr Muftau Raji Ibrahim, Ahamadiyya Muslim Mission.
Others are; Mr Ismael Masoud, Al-sunnah Muslim Group, Alhaji Saeed Anass Dawuda, Tijaani Muslim Group, Osofo Akotey Agbofa Atsyo, Practitioners of African Traditional Religion.
The rest are; Major Edward Sarpong Appiah and Mrs Helen Dzide, both representing the Regional Coordinating Council, Mr Clemence Gyato and Mrs Ayaakor Dela Enuameh-Agbolosoo, both from identifiable groups and Togbe Gbogbolulu V, from the Regional House of Chiefs.
Dr. Letsa said the Regional Coordinating Council and the Regional Security were open for advice from the Council and they counted on it for conflict prevention, management, resolution and the building of sustainable peace in the Region.
Osofo Kofi Atabuatsi, a Board Member of the National Peace Council, said the need for peace in the country had never been more apparent than now, when the country’s socio-political systems appeared not to be responding effectively to emerging conflicts.
“Our youths are becoming increasingly agitated over limited opportunities, with impunity eating into the very fabric of our society and the threat of extremism looming large over our sub-region,” he noted and called on the Council to buckle up ahead of the task for peace and sustainable development.
Osofo Atabuatsi commended the media for its role in peace building and urged it to continue to be circumspect and sensitive in reporting actual or potential conflict situations, because information played vital roles in conflict management and peace building.
Mr David Normanyo, Regional Executive Secretary, Peace Council, said the old Council helped to contain many conflicts in the Region and called for support from stakeholders for the new Council to ensure sustainable peace and development.
Rev. Mawutor pledged the readiness of the Council to discharge its work with commitment, honesty and sincerity and appealed for training on trauma healing and alternative dispute resolution.
By A. B. Kafui Kanyi, GNA
