¢0.46 Billion Spent On Upper East Conflicts

Barely a month after it came to light that the latest conflict in the Northern Region cost ¢6 billion, it has emerged again that ¢460 million was spent to maintain the peace in the Upper East Region.

Out of the amount, ¢400 million was spent on the Bawku conflict and ¢60 million on that of Zaare. The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, disclosed this at a two-day Conflict Resolution workshop organised by the Institute of Adult Education at Bolgatanga. Twenty-three participants drawn from the district assemblies, the Northern Electricity Department, the Ghana Health Service and human rights activists in the region attended the workshop. They were taken through topics such as causes of conflict, how to resolve conflicts and conflict prevention. The Regional Minister charged the facilitators to teach the participants to identify the potential causes of conflict.

He urged the participants to look critically at how disputes could be handled, so that, they did not degenerate into conflicts. Mr. Salifu suggested that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods should be used in resolving conflicts, since it is the cheapest way of dispute resolution, adding that when disputes are settled out of court, it brings about “lasting friendship and camaraderie” between the parties. The Deputy Director of the Institute of Adult Education, Ms Kate Adiku, said the institute has found out that, conflicts are fast becoming rife in various parts of the country. The workshop was therefore being held to educate people on the dynamics of conflicts and their resolution.