Renowned alternative dispute resolution (ADR) expert Austin Gamey has stressed that mediation remains the most civilised and effective method for resolving prolonged conflicts such as the Bawku crisis—provided all parties are genuinely committed to the process.
Speaking on Joy Prime on Monday, July 28, Mr Gamey warned that mediation could fail if key stakeholders are not fully invested in its success.
“Mediation will normally not fail, and it has never failed before. It is the parties that may not accept to have the matter resolved and would like to go to the next level, if you like, arbitration,” he explained.
Referring to the ongoing mediation efforts led by the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Mr Gamey said the success of the process depends heavily on the credibility and goodwill of participants.
“If it is really true that the parties voluntarily agreed to participate in the mediation process… then normally the right people who are to participate in the decision-making process—that is to say, those who represent the owners of the conflict—must be present.
Because the conflict has owners, and the owners must send their representatives that they have confidence in, such that at the end of the day, when a decision is made, it will be fully accepted,” he said.
Mr Gamey also cautioned that the quality of mediation outcomes depends on the competence of the mediators themselves.
“If the mediators involved lack the necessary skill and understanding of the conflict, their efforts may fail to produce any meaningful outcome,” he noted.
His remarks come in the wake of renewed violence in Bawku, which recently claimed the lives of two students and heightened long-standing tensions in the area.
Source: myjoyonline.com
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