President Mahama: "No peace, no development"

President John Dramani Mahama on Wednesday stated that no country in the world could develop in the midst of violent conflicts and other disagreements.

He, therefore, appealed to all Ghanaians to resist attempts that could foment trouble and spark off communal and ethnic conflicts in the country in the coming years.

President Mahama stated this when he addressed the chiefs and people of Nkonya in the Volta Region.

The people of Nkonya and Alavanyo in the Volta Region had over the years engaged in a conflict, allegedly sparked about 90 years ago over a parcel of land within the two communities.

After a series of unsuccessful mediations, President Mahama, a couple of months ago, engaged the National Peace Council to facilitate the settlement, which resulted into the signing of a peace accord between them.

As a follow-up to that accord, President Mahama therefore visited the two communities to have first hand information on how they were coping with the new trend.

President Mahama said: "No peace, no development, you can jaw-jaw and not war-war as that will not bring anything meaningful into our country".

He philosophically told them that, they would not achieve the justice they had been seeking until they made way for peace, as a panacea to everything including socio-economic development.

The president said the World Bank and other international financial institutions had begun to repose confidence in Ghana on account of the peace and stability and urged them not to engage in activities that would derail that agenda.

Nana Ampem Darkoh III, Ankobeahene of Nkonya called on President Mahama to take up adequate measures that would provide a holistic peace agreement between the two communities.

He pledged the commitment of his people to respect the peace agreement that the two communities were engaged in.

Also at the programme were Most Reverend Emmanuel Asante, Chairman of National Peace Council, Togbe Afede XIV, Chairman of the Mediation team and Nii Afotey Agbo, Volta Regional Minister.