Mediators working under the auspices of the Marian Conflict Resolution Centre (MCRC), mediated 124 cases from the courts in the Bono, Bono-East and Ahafo regions from January to July 2021.
Out of the 124 cases, 93 were settled successfully, while 21 unsuccessful cases were referred back to the courts, with the remaining10 cases pending at mediation.
The cases were mostly debt recovery, rent, marital and land disputes, among others.
Mrs Vida Korang, Executive Director of MCRC announced this at the opening of the Centre’s professional mediation training workshop in Accra on Monday.
She explained that the cases were referred to the Centre’s Bono, Bono-East and Ahafo Regional ADR Office as a result of a collaboration with the Court-Connected ADR Programme of the Judicial Service.
According to her, there is growing interest in mediation for the resolution of disputes in the three regions, adding that litigants are now choosing mediation because of the immense benefits.
“Parties that come for mediation are mostly happy at the end of the mediation, and wished they had chosen this option of dispute settlement earlier in their disputes,” she said.
In that regard, she called on mediators to prepare and respond to the growing need for mediation services.
She assured the training participants of opportunities in the ADR industry, adding that their commitment to help parties to resolve disputes should be paramount
“As you begin your journey in the learning and practice of mediation, know that there are great opportunities for you out there to use the skills you learn here to help resolve conflicts wherever you find yourselves,” she stressed.
The MCRC, which is under the Catholic University College in Fiapre-Sunyani, has since 2011 trained about 600 certified mediators and 60 arbitrators across Ghana.
Professionals from various fields are participating in the week-long training which is aimed at supporting efforts at building a quality human resource base for the ADR industry.
Mr George Agbozo, a facilitator at the training, in his presentation, explained how perceptions influence disputes, adding that disputes could be avoided if people would be accommodative of the perspectives of others.
