The Ashanti Regional Peace Council has been inaugurated with a call to council members to show strong commitment towards helping to strengthen national unity and cohesion.

The Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel K. Asante, Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), said they could not afford to leave anything to chance and must focus on aiding the people to smooth over their differences.

He made reference to the findings of a recent study it conducted together with the University of Cape Coast (UCC), and said, Ghana has “all the visible factors” which had fuelled conflicts elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa, citing political, chieftaincy, land and ethnic disputes.

“It is up to us as a nation to be aware of this and manage such situations in a manner that will help prevent these disputes from generating into full-scale disturbances”, he added.

The Ashanti Council has 13 members, who are expected to among other things, to counsel the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) on matters relating to the prevention, resolution and management of conflicts, as well as maintaining peace.

They would also engage in awareness creation campaigns to consolidate the unity, promote peace and harmony.

The Most Rev Prof Asante advised them to ensure high sense of political neutrality, saying that, they should do everything to live up to expectation to sustain public trust and confidence.

Mr Joseph Yamin, the Deputy Regional Minister, said peace was critical to development and urged all to avoid acts likely to create confusion and tear the nation apart.