Mr Charles Boateng, the Municipal Chief Executive of Krachi East in the Oti Region, has pledged to protect the peace in the Municipality as a whole. He said a peaceful Municipality and nation would enable citizens go about their duties without fear Mr Boateng during an Inter-Party Dialogue Committee (IPDC) meeting on Preventing and Containing Violent Extremism (PCVE), said it was sad that women and children were vulnerable when there is violence. The meeting organised by the Krachi East Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) was supported by the European Union. Mr Boateng said experiences from areas and countries where there were conflicts showed that livelihoods of citizens as well as properties had been greatly affected. He encouraged all political parties to conduct their campaigns based on issues and to promote peace and strengthen mutual respect in the election year. Nana Robert Kwasi Boame, Oti Regional Director, NCCE, said the Inter-Party Dialogue Committee a imed at bringing all key stakeholders in the Municipality together to brainstorm and dialogue to find solutions to avert potential electoral conflicts before, during and after the 2024 general elections. He said it was also to allow members of the Committee to have meaningful discussions on strategies to strengthen vigilance against external forces. Nana Boame said despite the peaceful change of government since 1992, there was the need for avoidance of complacency in the face of all the threats within the sub-region. He said the Committee had been tasked to monitor and report cases of breach of rules and regulations relating to the conduct of the elections and the maintenance of public order. Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Mohammed Tanko, Krachi East Municipal Police Commander, noted that poverty, inadequate parenting, and non-provision of the needs of the youth contributed to some forming violent extremist groups. He said though it was difficult identifying members of extremist groups, most of them showed signs of withdrawal from family and friends as well as changing their circle of friends. ACP Tanko said others also tend to increase their levels of anger, engage in secretive activities especially on the internet while others also use extremist terms to exclude people or incite violence. He admonished the citizenry to always be on the lookout for such signs among the youth and give timely information to the security agencies. ACP Tanko underscored the need for the public to render credible information to the police to assist in fighting crime in the Municipality since security was a shared responsibility. Mr Clement Kwesi Mamadu, Krachi East Municipal Director, NCCE, noted that reporting issues of conflicts early helped mediators such as IPDC in finding lasting solutions to them. He said the Committee, chiefs, opinion or party leaders, security agencies and courts were some places issues of conflicts could be reported. A total of 40 participants from political parties, associations, faith-b ased organizations, PWDs, CSOs, Krachi East Municipal Assembly and independent institutions participated in the meeting and elected executives to chair the affairs of the committee. Source: Ghana News Agency