TAKE MEASURES TO STOP CONFLICTS IN NORTHERN GHANA (PAGE 20, NOV 6)

THE Executive Director of the Centre for Promotion of Youth Development and Empowerment (CPYDE), a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mr Alhassan Abdulai, has called for proactive measures to stop conflicts in Northern Ghana, especially in the Upper West Region.
“For us, as we count our losses in the Northern and Upper East regions following the conflict in those areas, we must endeavour to prevent any calamity from befalling our people in the Upper West in order to live in peace and harmony for sustainable development”, he stated.
Mr Abdulai was addressing a training of trainers workshop on advocacy in peacebuilding for community-based organisations in Wa.
The workshop, organised by CPYDE, was sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Mr Abdulai said the CPYDE would collaborate with all organisations and individuals engaged in peaceful activities in the Upper West Region to ensure that the current relative peaceful atmosphere being enjoyed in the region was sustained.
He said the three northern regions continued to lag behind in almost all indicators of human development.
He said on the average, the Ghana Living Standards Survey (2005) had concluded that seven out of 10 people in the Northern Region continued to live in poverty while eight and nine out of the same number in the Upper West and Upper East regions were in the same category.
“I wish therefore to appeal to our northern brothers and sisters to reflect on these and allow peace to prevail at all times to speed up our development agenda,” Mr Abdulai added.
According to him, the workshop was aimed at sharpening the advocacy skills of the participants to enable them to map out strategies to prevent conflicts in their localities.
Mr Abdulai was unhappy that peace measures had been concentrated largely in the Northern and Upper East regions, and suggested that other NGOs should include the Upper West Region in their programme of activities.
The Secretary of the Upper West Regional Peace Council, Mr Mark Abugnaba, said the council had through dialogue been able to avert conflict situations in some communities in the region.
He referred to the 2008 general elections where through the efforts of the council, the various political parties were encouraged to use dialogue instead of force.
“That went a long way to ensure peace in the region before, during and after the elections,” Mr Abdulai added.