Govt spends 15 billion cedis on Dagbon conflict

Bole (N/R), Aug. 22, GNA - The government has so far spent 15 billion cedis on security personnel keeping the peace in the Dagbon Traditional Area, Mr Ernest Debrah, Northern Regional Minister has said. The amount excludes miscellaneous expenses such as travelling and mediation allowances of officials involved in resolving the crisis. Mr Debrah said this at a durbar of chiefs and people of Bole to conclude his two-day tour of the southern parts of the Region on Tuesday.

He said, even though, every region in the country experiences conflicts those in the Northern Region were always intractable. The Minister advised people, who fund conflicts in the Region, to desist from such activities since they retarded development and progress.

He urged the youth to demand from people, who lure them into conflicts, to let their children lead them to taste the bitterness. Mr Debrah said some roads in the district had been awarded on contract and appealed to the people to be patient with the government. Turning to economic activities, he said the government had chosen the district for cashew cultivation and appealed to the chiefs to release land for the purpose.

The Paramount Chief of the Bole Traditional Area, Bole-Wura Amankwa Gbedesi II commended government's efforts at developing the District. He, however, expressed regret that, even though, the Region is among the deprived ones in the country it is very often associated with conflicts, some of which have escalated into civil wars resulting in the loss of lives and property.

The Bole-Wura said the District was enjoying relative peace with no single chieftaincy or land dispute and commended the various ethnic groups in the area for their co-operation and peaceful co-existence. He said the chiefs would continue to serve as a strong link to foster unity among the people, saying: "We will continue to pursue the interest of our people to ensure peace in our area."

The Bole-wura re-echoed the call by the chiefs and people of Gonjaland to the government for the creation of a separate Region for them to enhance development.

He said: "If we are ever to aspire towards development or to benefit from the national cake, then, there should be a break up of the Northern Region, which is simply too big and cumbersome to administer". Bole-wura Gbedesi appealed to the government to post a medical officer to the District Hospital and also support it with staff and equipment to ensure efficient healthcare delivery.

He said some assembly members in the area did not respect chiefs in the communities, noting that the situation has created divisions among the people, as they cannot come together to undertake development projects.

He said, "as leaders and representatives of the people in the communities, we have to show integrity, self-respect and commitment to our people so that there would be peace and harmony among us".