Forty students of Gamey & Gamey Academy of Mediation, an affiliate of the PULSE Institute of Calgary-Canada, and Mediation Training Institute of Kansas-USA, on Saturday graduated in Professional Executive Masters in Alternative (Appropriate) Dispute Resolution (ADR) in Accra.

The graduation was also to induct the 14th class session that would go through a 25 weeks intensive course in ADR.

Nana Owusu Afari, President of the Association of Ghana Industries, said the Alternative Dispute Resolution Act, 2010 (Act 798) was a regularized Customary Arbitration which gives backing to the traditional ways of adjudicating disputes practiced at the community level among all ethnic groups.

He said employers and organized labour were relieved that the Labour Act introduced the use of ADR in the settling of labour disputes.

Nana Afari said, commercial courts also use ADR as the first option in settling of disputes involving business entities, adding that, the use of ADR was increasing against the normal litigation through the courts, which saves time and cost for the disputing patties and the decongestion of the courts.

He said ethnic conflicts in some parts of the country continued to fester and being made worse by rival factions aligning themselves with political parties who are exploiting the situation, “As a traditional ruler, I know that chieftaincy issues are contributing a lot to the disputes or conflicts in the country.”

Nana Afari said the discovery of natural resources also led to conflicts, adding, “The discovery and exploitation of gold deposits in parts of Northern, Eastern Ghana and Brong-Ahafo regions have the potential to lead to bigger conflicts than we have witnessed so far.”

Nana Afari expressed the hope that, disputes over the Biometric Voters Registration exercise would not be harbinger of what to expect to come in the December elections.

Mr Austin A. Gamey, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Academy, said the perception that courts and lawyers were the key source of finding solutions to conflicts should be given a second thought and appealed to the media to take the challenge in educating the public about the benefits of ADR.

He said the Academy had trained many professionals, adding that over 70% ADR practioners in Canada and the USA are not lawyers and said “I am an example.”

Mr Gamey referred to chieftaincy conflicts in Dagbon, Bawku, Accray, Peki-Tsito and land cases; saying “In my opinion, these are matters that can be resolved by the parties through the process of mediation.”

Mr Gamey said plans were advanced to establish a private ADR University in the country to serve the African continent.**