USE DIALOGUE IN RESOLVING DIFFERENCES — BIMI (PAGE 43, JUNE 21, 2010)

Story: Zakaria Alhassan, Tolon
THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), Mr Larry Bimi, has appealed to people in northern Ghana to always use dialogue in resolving their differences when faced with any situation instead of sometimes resorting to violence at the least provocation.
“Whatever the provocation, always try to invoke the spirit of tolerance in you to prevent unnecessary conflicts at your respective communities,” he stressed.
Mr Bimi observed that northern Ghana was among the least developed in the country and that it was only through an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity that the government and investors would be encouraged and attracted to the area to help accelerate its development.
Mr Bimi made the appeal at a day’s workshop on peaceful district assembly elections at Tolon in the Tolon/Kumbungu District in the Northern Region.
The event organised in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), was aimed at sensitising the people on the need to ensure violent-free polls during the forthcoming district assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
Participants at the forum included representatives of the various political parties, chiefs and opinion leaders, youth and women’s groups.
Among the topics discussed were electoral processes in Ghana, the district assembly system and an overview of the conflict situation in the district.
The NCCE chairman further admonished Ghanaians to take the elections seriously to deepen the local governance system and also consolidate the nations fledging democracy.
He suggested that the Electoral Commission could engage staff of the NCCE as returning officers during elections since the staff were supposed to be neutral.
That, Mr Bimi stressed, would not only ensure transparency, but would also build confidence in the electorate.
The Tolon/Kumbungu District Director of the Electoral Commission, Mr Iliasu Ewuntomah, entreated political party representatives in the area to always channel their grievances to his outfit for redress instead of sometimes embarking on unorthodox means to address them, which on many occasions, resulted in violence.
He, therefore, urged them to support the commission to ensure a violent-free, fair and transparent elections in the district.