Nkonya (O/R), Oct. 28, GNA – Mr Robert Boame, Oti Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has urged members of the Biakoye District Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) to be law abiding.
He noted that there was the need for the members to notify the police before any special event such as festivals, outdooring of traditional leaders and demonstrations were held to ensure proper security.
Mr Boame speaking during an IPDC meeting held at Nkonya Nchumuru, said notifications about events including; nature, date, time and location of the events to the police were just to alert and not seek permission.
He said notifying the police ahead of any event also helped to safeguard or protect lives and property adding that if the police saw that the date, time or the venue of an event was inappropriate to ensure the maintenance of peace and order, they would advise the people.
Mr Boame stated that notifications about any events must be made available to the police at least five working days prior to the event to create space for any adjustment.
He added that the police had a mandate to prohibit and seize offensive weapons or search any premises suspected to be in possession of offensive weapons during demonstrations.
The Regional Director said vigilantism and activities of vigilante groups and land guards were threatening the peace of Ghana and could lead to havoc in future and all must be on the alert to ensure peace and order.
He said some countries that suffered violence due to the activities of vigilante groups were once peaceful, but took their peace for granted while urging citizens not say Ghana was a peaceful country without protecting her.
Mr Boame said vigilantism mostly was influenced by political parties and their party executives in seeking power while others influenced for their personal gains without the interest of the nation.
He said any person operating as a land guard and found guilty under the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (Act 999) would serve between 15 and 25 years and any person whose actions sought to support vigilantism also committed an offence and was liable for punishment.
Mr Boame tasked participants to spread the message to members of their institutions and charged the leaders of faith-based organisations to train their ushers to be able to identify visitors and monitor them.
Reverend Leonard Aglomasa, Biakoye District Director, NCCE, noted that there was the need to advance national cohesion to promote development in and lack of information, poverty, unemployment were enemies Ghanaians should fight.
He said people belonging to different political parties, religious bodies, ethnic backgrounds do not and should not make them enemies but rather bring unity and diversity since God in his own wisdom did not make people to think alike but differently.
The District Director said poor communication hurt feelings leading to anger and frustration and therefore the need for people to learn to say the right things at the right times to the right people and at the right place since words spoken could not be reversed.
He said when people communicate in a good way, there would always be peace and advised the committee members to clear and straightforward with what they intended to convey to one another.
Rev Aglomasa said when political parties dialogued, there would be peace and Ghana needed political, economic, social and religious peace to develop.
Nanai Ampem-Darkoh III, Acting President of Nkonya Traditional Council who chaired the meeting, urged the committee members to take Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms seriously to limit the way every case was sent to court.
He called on the participants to learn to forgive when people wronged them and live at peace with one another.
The participants pledged to send the message to members of their various organisations.
Okyeame Onipeanyeaboa Aboagye of Nkonya Ntumda commended the Commission for the programme and asked that more of such meetings be regular.
GNA