Efficacy of Traditional Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in Facilitating Peacebuilding Between Herdsmen and Farmers in the West Mamprusi Municipal of Ghana
摘要
Farmer-herder conflict is gradually dominating violence conflict discourse, particularly in West Africa. In Ghana, the conflict is menacing the livelihoods of rural dwellers that are known to be dependent on small-scale crop farming and livestock rearing. The Peace Council of Ghana sees farmer-herder conflict as one of the country’s three most significant threats to peace. It is also a major threat to the attainment of food and nutrition security and SDG2 in the country. Relying on qualitative primary data and aligning with the analytical anchorage of hybrid peace governance theory, this Chapter examines the effectiveness of traditional dispute resolution mechanisms (TDRMs) in facilitating peacebuilding between herdsmen and farmers in the West Mamprusi Municipal of Ghana. Utilising both purposive and snowball samplings, 11 focus group discussions (involving 95 participants) and 33 key informants’ interviews were conducted in 10 communities in the West Mamprusi Municipality to achieve the research objectives. Findings indicate that the TDRMs and their application for herder-farmer conflict management and peacebuilding in the communities are solely in the hands and determination of the local chiefs. This means that the chiefs directly settle conflict cases between herders and farmers. They, however, sometimes form committees that help to take decisions on the cases. In the past, the TDRMs worked well. Both farmers and herders, however, now perceive the mediation processes at the chiefs’ palaces to be corrupt, authoritative, and non-participatory. The respondents trace the problem to the way TDRMs have been influenced by “modernized” chieftaincy and local political systems, which are highly monetized, and which abhors hybrid peace governance systems where all stakeholders must be involved. We argue that the TDRM system should retrace its steps and ensure that salient aspects of the indigenous methods which ensured that all stakeholders are well represented in the TDRMs is adhered to. Fulani herders’ elders, community elders, farmers’ association leaders or representatives, religious leaders, etc. are required to be part of the system to make it work meaningfully and successfully.