By Benard Worlali Awumee
Anloga (V/R), Sept 3, GNA-Dr David Yao Esinu Normanyo, the Volta Regional Executive Secretary of the National Peace Council, has said the Council was working diligently by deploying what it called ‘back-channel diplomacy’ to ensure there is utmost peace before, during, and after the December 7 polls.
He said they would continue to deliver on one of their key strategic objectives, which was to prevent election-related violence in the December polls amidst the rising political tension in the country.
Dr Normanyo gave the revelation during an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), where he said the public expected them to be explicit in their actions.
He indicated that they were deploying the ‘back-channel diplomacy’ to resolve issues among the various political parties, which called for the discussion of sensitive matters behind the curtains to build trust.
Dr Normanyo explained that their efforts would become irrelevant if they kept rebuking or condemning the parties publicly.
He indicated that the Council was working hard by engaging the various political parties and other election-related stakeholders to sign the ‘Peace Pact,’ a violent prevention tool signed by the various political parties to promote peace.
On the sideline of how the Council is resourced, he called for support and resources to keep them active during the campaign period.
“The State pays us like any other public servants in Ghana, while our Board Members receive allowances for their services, but most of our outreach programmes are financed by external donors. Most especially the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). So, it is well justified if the Council seeks financial support to be able to engage in peace-building activities.”
Dr Normanyo used the opportunity to call on other relevant state institutions to be responsible by keeping the peace.
According to him, most of the things the public was persuading the Council to do were mostly outside their mandate.
“When people are killed during an election time, the first and foremost institution to be called for order is the Ghana Police Service to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators but not the National Peace Council. Our acts do not explicitly mandate us to either punish or sanction perpetrators of those acts. We may persuade them, but the authority lies with the Police.”
Dr Normanyo touted the Council’s recent activities such as the organisation of Peace Journalism Seminars, Conflict Sensitive reporting, and political party trust-building platforms, where they also assured the public of ensuring fair and violent-free elections, this year.
GNA