Chairperson of the reconstituted Bono Regional Peace Council, Prof. Mrs. Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi, has said they will work to build on the gains of previous council members.

She said with the skills and expertise of the new members, in collaboration with other stakeholders, their mandate of ensuring sustainable peace in the region would be achieved.

Speaking at the inauguration of the 13 council members for a four-year term at a ceremony at the Regional Coordinating Council in Sunyani, on Monday, December 12, 2022, she pledged their support to foster and strengthen the peace the region is enjoying.

Prof. Mrs. Derkyi, the first female chairperson of the council, also emphasized their resolve to hold high their mandate, drawn from the Act that governs the council (Act 818, 2011), to realize the mission and vision and the core values of the council.

“We pledge to continue the great work done by the immediate past executives and support the secretariat in diverse ways”, she assured, adding, “To our partners from the security services, we would come to you for advice”.

“I believe we would use our diverse and beautiful skills and expertise from the chieftaincy and other religious bodies from different sectors to move our region forward”, she said with the belief that it would help them feel and realize the peace they have in the region.

Prof. Mrs. Mercy Afua Adutwumwaa Derkyi, who became the first female staff to be promoted to Professorial status at the University Of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, in April 2022, is currently the Acting Director of the Centre for Professional Development (CePDev) at the University.

In 2012 she had her Ph.D. in social sciences with a specialty in Forest Governance and Conflict Management at the University of Amsterdam.

In an address read on her behalf, the Regional Minister, Justina Owusu Banahene, commended the council in the management and resolution of various chieftaincy, land, and political disputes and urged the new members to continue the good works to safely guide the development of the region.

She said the surest way to resolve conflicts and reconcile parties is to build local capacities in conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

Madam Owusu Banahene appealed to the council members to take note and collaborate with the relevant institutions to provide guidance and educate couples to endeavor to resort to the use of non-violence means in dealing with marital conflicts. She said this would help reduce the growing cases of spousal murders in the region.

Nana Agyakoma Dufie II, a member of the governing board of the National Peace Council, administered the oaths for the 13 members of the council in the Bono Region.

The other members are Mamaa Afari-Gyan, (RCC, Attorney General’s Department), Major Edith Gyamera (RCC, 3BN, Liberation Barracks), Imam Ibrahim Saeed Abdul-Rahman (Al-sunnah Muslims), Ahmed Opoku (Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission), Rev. Alex Gyabaa (Ghana Pentecostal Council), and Very Rev. Fr. Thomas Oppong-Febiri (Catholic Bishops Conference).

The rest are Very Rev. Seth Afful Sackey (Christian Council), Peter Damoah-Afari (African Tradition Religion), Imam Mohammed Issaka (Tijaaniya Muslim), Apostle Dr. Jackson Nkansah (National Council for Christian and Charismatic Churches), Nana Yaa Ansuaa II (Queenmothers Association) and Nana Bofo Bene IV (Regional House of Chiefs).