The Upper West Region, which hitherto was considered a peaceful place, is now inundated with land disputes, a situation which has become a source of worry to security agencies and opinion leaders in the communities.
Land disputes in the region are but a recent phenomenon; what used to be a challenge were chieftaincy disputes but land disputes had now over shadowed it and everybody is now aware of it, Mr. Nuhu Issahaku Putiaha, Wa Muncipal Chief Executive has said.
Mr. Putiaha was addressing media practitioners at a media sensitisation workshop on responsible conflict reporting and peace building .for a peaceful election held in Wa.
The workshop discussed topics such as, �Reporting for peace�, �The power of the media and its influence�, �The journalist; role and responsibilities�, �Experience with conflict situation� and �The electoral system in Ghana; District Assembly Elections� among others.
He said the region was quite peaceful and was finding amicable solutions to its chieftaincy disputes, however, other disputes such as that of land are increasing at an alarming trend.
The Municipal Chief Executive said the region was experiencing five land disputes and mentioned the Chansa and Nakori in the Wa Municipality and Nimoro and Fielmuo in the Sissala West District, as delicate cases, which the security agencies and opinion leaders are trying to find solutions to end it and help sustain the peace in the area.
Mr. Putiaha expressed disappointment about a wrong reportage on a radio station in Wa about the Chansa Nakori land dispute, which he said nearly sparked-off trouble between the two communities.
He appealed to the media, especially radio stations in the region, to avoid sensational stories because such practices have the tendency of disturbing the peace of the region.
He appealed to media practitioners in the region to add professionalism into conflict reporting issues and urged media houses to organise in-service trainings to upgrade the skills of their personnel.
�It is my passionate appeal to media practitioners to stay neutral and avoid hate speeches in their reportage, especially, when it comes to conflict situations, so as to win the confidence of the people�.
On the district level elections, Mr. Putiaha urged the media to be more involved in educating the electorate on good electoral practices, and the sustenance of peace to avoid confusion in the communities.
He suggested the representation of the National Peace Council members at the Regional Security Council to share their experiences during its meetings.
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