Ghanaians in the Diaspora call for peace in the North

Accra, April 30, GNA - Ghanaians in the Diaspora have called on the government and all peace loving citizens of Ghana to intensify their efforts to bring lasting peace in the northern part of the country. Ghanaians resident in Prague, who made the call at a meeting with the visiting Parliamentary delegation currently in Czech Republic, expressed concern about the damage pockets of conflicts in the north were causing among potential Czech citizens prepared to undertake business in Ghana. The visit was at the invitation of the Czech Parliament.

The call was made in a statement issued in Accra and signed by Ms. Kate Addo, Deputy Director of Public Affairs, Parliament House. It said a spokesman for the residents, Mr Afrikanu Nkrumah, told the visiting delegation, led by Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, about the uneasiness among potential investors including Ghanaians who were withholding some funds as a result of the conflicts.

However, he expressed the hope that efforts would be taken to resolve these self-inflicted conflicts to open up for more investment ventures. Other residents decried the difficulties Ghanaians trained in Eastern European countries undergo before being allowed by Ghanaian authorities to practice.

They said medical practitioners had been frustrated in the past, thereby discouraging other trained medical professionals from returning home.

They therefore appealed to Parliament to intervene since they were prepared to return home to contribute towards Ghana's socio-economic development.

The Leadership of Parliament addressed some of the concerns and gave the assurance that sector ministers would be contacted for the necessary redress.

In another development, the delegation met the Senate President and Speaker of Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament to discuss issues on how the two Parliaments could work closely to promote Parliamentary democracy and economic development.

The President of Senate, Mr Premysl Sobotka, expressed the optimism that relations between the two Parliaments could strengthen further. He commended Ghana for her democratic credentials especially Election 2008, and pledged Czech's support to entrench Ghana's Parliamentary democracy.

The Speaker of Chamber of Deputies, Mr Miloslav Vicck, said Czech Republic was ready to support the Northern Railway project, power generation efforts as well as assist in managing waste in the country and finance investment.

The leadership of Parliament expressed gratitude to the Czech Parliament for the invitation.

It commended the Czech Government for providing support in agricultural development, industrial establishments and peacekeeping in the past and hoped that their capacity building efforts would be extended to intelligence training.