LACK OF FUNDS HALTS COMMITTEE'S WORK (PAGE 20)

WORK by the committee on the Alavanyo–Nkonya Peace Mediation which began in 2005 has come to a halt due to lack of funds.
So far, the committee has finished demarcating the 10 miles square disputed land between the people of Alavanyo and Nkonya and is only left to serve the people with copies of the land plan to bring an end to the over 85-year-old conflict which has claimed many lives and destroyed property.
The immediate past Moderator of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana, Rev. Dr Livingstone Buama, who is the chairman of the committee, made this known when he led a six- member delegation to pay a courtesy call on the Volta Regional Minister, Mr Joseph Amenowode, at Ho last Thursday.
He said the committee needed more resources to engage qualified people to draw the boundary lines in a way that would be accepted by the two communities.
Dr Buama was happy about the co- operation being offered by the people to the committee since anything contrary could have marred the success of the process, adding that through their efforts, peace had been restored and economic activities had resumed.
He expressed gratitude to the government, the Catholic Relief Services and the Ho Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church for their immense support in efforts to bring lasting peace to the area.
The Bishop of Ho Diocese of the Catholic Church, Most Rev. Francis Kofi Anani Lodonu, called for more resources since the committee’s finances had been depleted by the demarcating process.
The Regional Minister, Mr Amenowode commended members of the committee for their yeoman’s job and said the government would do everything possible to give them the necessary support to ensure that by the end of the year, permanent peace would prevail in the area.
He also promised to collaborate with the committee to ensure that a lasting solution was found to enable them to use the Alavanyo-Nkonya Peace process as a point to solve the rest of the conflicts in the region such as the Tsito-Peki conflict, the Apostles Revelation Society (ARS) Church and the Anlo chieftaincy dispute, among others.