Dispute mediators tasked to be professional

The third edition of the National Mediation Expedition has been held on Afadjato, Ghana's highest mountain, with a call on dispute mediators to be professional in their work.

It was organised by Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Daily and the Gamey and Gamey Group, with support from Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), to promote the use of mediation to resolve disputes, especially in the business sector.

More than 60 professionals in diverse fields from various organisations participated in the event which equipped them with practical knowledge and skills for dispute prevention and resolution.

The two-day event was dubbed: "The relevance of mediation in addressing labour disputes".

It formed part of ADR Daily's corporate social responsibility programme to enhance awareness for increased use of ADR mechanisms in Ghana.

This year's event was characterised by mediation training sessions, simulation exercises, presentation on court-connected mediation, mediation clinic for the community and mountain hiking.

The participants included managing directors, human resource managers, union leaders, bankers, lawyers, ADR practitioners, medical and security officers, real estate developers, religious and traditional leaders, church administrators, lecturers, private business operators, accountants and other professionals.

Uphold tenets

The Chairman of the Court-Connected Mediators Association, Togbe Hotormaho Amedzake, reminded practitioners of the critical need to uphold the tenets of the profession.

“We must be impartial and act professionally at all times in order to win the trust and confidence of parties at mediation,” he said.

Togbe Amedzake lauded the quality of the simulations and performance of the graduating students, including the mediation simulation exercise conducted by the 2022 graduands from the Gamey and Gamey ADR Institute.

He commended the Gamey and Gamey ADR Institute for the quality of its ADR training and urged the participants to utilise the lessons and skills gained at the event.

Mediation

A Deputy Attorney-General and Deputy Minister of Justice, Diana Asonaba Dapaah, urged Ghanaians to adopt mediation for the effective resolution of disputes in all sectors.

She said the benefits of ADR, particularly mediation, remained enormous, and, therefore, should be utilised for the amicable settlement of disputes, including labour issues.

Ms Dapaah explained that because mediation had been given strong legal recognition in Ghana's legal framework, with many state institutions mandated to use mediation as a dispute resolution mechanism, the public needed to use it more rather than engaging in court litigation.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Gamey and Gamey Group, Austin A. Gamey, urged the public to seek the services of professional mediators to help in resolving disputes.

He gave the assurance that the group, through the Gamey ADR Institute, would continue to build the capacity of ADR practitioners by providing quality training services to enhance the growth of the ADR industry in Ghana.

Writer's email: benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh