Chokosis, Konkombas must see peace

Conflicts anywhere do not promote development and the well-being of the affected people.

In whatever form the conflict may be, it wipes out any progress or development that may have taken place in the affected areas.

Ghana has seen a number of conflicts over the years and we have all been witnesses to the aftermath of such conflicts.

That is why, as a people, we must not only promote peace and harmonious co-habitation but seek the welfare of our neighbours as well.

The Daily Graphic is worried about the renewed conflict between the Chokosis and the Konkombas in the Chereponi District in the North East Region.

We are particularly disappointed because a committee that was set up to identify the causes of the Konkomba-Anufor conflict in the Chereponi District and parts of the Saboba District presented its report to the Interior Minister last Friday, March 15, 2019. Even before the government could study the report and help address the problems, the conflict has been reignited in the area.

Already, there are reports that 1,800 people, including women and children, have been displaced in 20 communities as a result of the raging conflict.

It is not just the displacement that is of concern to the Daily Graphic but also the destruction of infrastructure, social, political and economic institutions.

People may not imagine the cost, but if one is to look at the loss of economic investments and earnings, the destruction of health facilities and the amount of money to be spent on the security agencies to maintain law and order, then the cost of conflict is very expensive.

Even more disheartening is the report that some victims have to sleep in the open because they have no shelter or anyone to turn to.

Officials of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) in the district are having challenges entering the affected communities to assess the impact of the escalating conflict and provide relief services.

The officials have subsequently confined themselves to registering those fleeing the conflict zone.

At a time when a new region, North East, has been carved to spearhead development in the area, the Daily Graphic believes that all hands must be on deck to bring lasting peace to the area.

The managers of the new region cannot start their tenure with a concentration on dealing with conflicts, instead of bringing development to the people.

The Daily Graphic is, therefore, appealing to all stakeholders to call the factions to order while they await government’s action on the P. K. Acheampong Committee that just submitted its report.

We have had many assurances from youth groups and other parties to end the hostilities but such assurances only end up on paper.

We should not allow the few beneficiaries of the conflict to hold the people to ransom by their continuous sponsorship of the hostilities.

With the creation of the new region, the Daily Graphic admonishes the youth, who are often at the centre of such conflicts, to redirect their energies to help the region become a haven of peace and progress.

Development cannot take place in an atmosphere of conflict or hostilities. This is what the parties must appreciate.

Instead of war-war, we admonish them to jaw-jaw to resolve their differences.