Residents of Bolgatanga wants alien herdsmen out

Pwalugu (Upper East) 5 May ?99

The chiefs and people of Pwalugu, Balungu and Datoko in the Bolgatanga District have appealed to the government to flush out alien herdsmen because their activities are destroying vegetation and farmlands in the district.

The appeal was made when Mr John Tia, Member of Parliament (MP) for Talensi Constituency toured the area to interact with the people and acquaint himself with their problems.

The alien herdsmen do not only cut down economic trees like Shea and Dawadawa to feed their animals, but they also steal cattle belonging to the local people and rape their women, the people said.

They explained that all attempts to get the herdsmen out of the area have proved futile because there are some "powerful local people" behind them.

Mr Tia expressed regret over the situation and added his voice to earlier appeals to the Bolgatanga District Assembly and the Upper East Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) to join hands in addressing the concerns of the people before they take the law into their own hands.