Alavanyo and Nkonya ready to broker peace over land dispute

Ho, June 9, GNA - The people of Nkonya and Alavanyo are expected to broker a permanent peace by the end of this year to end their protracted 85-year land dispute. This follows the acceptance of a composite map of the disputed land by the Chiefs and opinion leaders of the two traditional areas, which was presented to them by the surveyors mandated to work on it. The Nkonya-Alavanyo Conflict Mediation Committee gave the assignment to the surveyors. The acceptance of the map meant that would now form the basis for further consultations and dialogues between the two traditional areas to reach a peaceful and permanent settlement. The disputed area is about 10 miles square. Right Reverend Dr Livingstone Buamah, Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church and Chairman of the Mediation Committee said: "We did dread this day".

In his remarks on the outcome of the forum, Togbe Atakora Tsedze, Fiaga of Alavanyo Traditional Area said, "we have already made peace and our peace vehicle has no reverse gear. "It will no longer be a matter of guns and knives in coming to a permanent settlement", he said. On his part Nana Okotor Kofi III, Omanhene of Nkonya said, "I am full of happiness and I cannot express my joy. "I am convinced that all will be well" he said and urged those who were at the forum to tell the story truthfully at home about how excellently the surveyors have done their job, and how the mystery surrounding the whole affair have been demystified. The Strategic Facilitator of the Peace Process and Executive Director of the West Africa Network for Peace (WANEP), Mr Emmanuel Bombande, said a series of consultations would be held with various identifiable groups from the two traditional areas to fashion out further processes at reaching final peaceful settlement. He said what the map has shown indicated the two truths as presented by the two traditional areas. Mr Bombande said from now on, they (Nkonya and Alavanyo) would both dialogue and work together to reach "one Nkonya and Alavanyo truth" about the disputed land. By October all the ideas would be discussed in order to arrive at the "one truth", Mr Bombande said. The Peace and Governance Programme Officer of the United Nations Development Programme, Mr Francis Azuimah said the United Nations body was keenly interested in the developments unfolding in the Alavanyo-Nkonya peace process as evidenced by a delegation from that body to the area not long ago. He observed that, what was unfolding in Alavanyo and Nkonya was a laudable process, which promised to be of immense benefit and a useful lesson to Ghana, Africa and the world. Initiatives at resolving the protracted, sometimes bloody, Alavanyo-Nkonya land dispute started on 16 June 2004, when the government through the Volta Regional Co-ordinating Council inaugurated a government cum clergy Alavanyo-Nkonya Mediation Committee to facilitate the settlement of the dispute. The Committee initiated the formation of a number of grassroots peace machinery and a series of workshops for the Chiefs and opinion leaders and those community level committees as part of the strategies to build a foundation for mutual trust between the feuding communities. As a result the past five years have witnessed the resumption of healthy social interactions between the people of the two traditional areas, which have long eluded them. The main thrust of the peace processes has been to help the two traditional areas to resolve their differences and arrive at settlements to their mutual and collective benefit. 10 June 08