By Alexander Nyarko Yeboah, GNA
Tema Dec. 10, GNA - The Central Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre of Ashaiman has resolved almost all the 1068 cases brought before it.
The cases, which include child maintenance, minor assault, tenancy dispute, debt recovery, denial of pregnancy and child neglect, are sourced from within the Ashaiman Municipality as well as catchment areas like Ada, Ningo Prampram, Afienya and Gbetsile.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at Ashaiman, the Head of the Central ADR Centre, Mr. Kingsley Kutiame, informed that many people lacked the means to approach the law courts for redress, and therefore the ADR system presented them with great opportunities to settle their disputes.
The Mediator insisted that ADR centres favoured the poor and so cases of child neglect, child maintenance and neglect of pregnancy went without any charge because the women involved in such cases were mostly not financially sound.
Mr. Kutiame said that in that case, ADR was helping people to access justice and also build people’s confidence in the justice delivery system in Ghana.
He observed that ADR “brings peace when such cases are handled and the parties go home happy with the outcome since both parties contributed to the process of resolving the problem.”
Mr. Kutiame therefore called for the establishment of ADR centres across Ghana in order to enhance the justice delivery process, insisting that “ADR has come to stay, and I expect that people should be trained in ADR processes to reduce the numerous cases in court.”
Mr. Kutiame observed that mediation was a win-win situation which allowed both parties to go home satisfied with the outcome of mediation because they were involved in the solution finding process.
He informed that Mediation had helped people to become conscious of the law because those who observed the proceedings at his centre went out and informed others about some of the legal issues and therefore community members were careful in dealing with others in matters that brought disputes.
“This helps the communities to live in harmony and prevent bitterness that could have escalated into serious situations,” Mr. Kutiame said.
Alternative conflict resolution is a mechanism that allows disputes to be settled through mediation, a situation in which the mediator is a neutral party and the parties to the conflict are involved in finding solutions to the dispute, thereby making the outcome more reconciliatory instead of mandatory.
GNA
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