Second militia disbandment meeting Monday
Ghana’s two main political parties the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and opposition National Democratic Congress(NDC) are expected to head back into the second round of talks to disband affiliated party militias.
The meeting supervised by the National Peace Council is expected to continue at the Peduase Valley Resort on Monday, the statement from the Council said.
The first meeting April 9 was at the Central Hotel near the British High Commission in Accra and focussed on terms of engagement and ground rules for disbanding their militia group.
This round of talks is expected to iron-out the fine details of eradicating militia groups from the political parties.
The Peace Council mediated talks have been long-time coming after the President, Nana Akufo-Addo during his State of the Nation Address in Parliament last Februaryurged the bi-partisan meeting following a bloody by-election in the Ayawaso West Wuogon constituency in January 2019.
It is believed militias on both rival parties, Invincible Forces, Kandahar Boys for the NPP and Hawks for the NDC, clashed during the bloody Ayawaso West Wuogon by-elections held January 31, 2019.
But actualising the President’s call has been bogged down by characteristic disagreements between the parties. The NDC wanted a mediator for the talks which was initially rejected by the NPP.
The NDC would later express disappointment that the invitation letter from the NPP when it came did not have a date and venue.
The NPP explained, it was to offer an opportunity for the main opposition to contribute to setting the agenda.
The Akufo-Addo government has been plagued by activities of several pro-NPP vigilante groups like Delta Force based in the Ashanti region, Kandahar Boys based in the Northern region and the Invincible Forces based in the capital, Accra.
To match the NPP, some leaders in the NDC have formed ‘The Hawks’ in the Ashanti region, ‘The Dragons’ based in the Bono Ahafo region and ‘The Lions’ based in the Eastern region.