Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), May 18, GNA - Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, on Tuesday advised radio presenters in the country to spend more air-time on matters of national development instead of politicizing anything that the government does. He said radio presenters who tried to make fetish of the slightest political point rather set back the clock of development. The regional minister was addressing a durbar of chiefs and elders of Dormaa at Dormaa-Ahenkro to kick-start his three-day familiarization tour of some parts of the Dormaa municipality. He assured the chiefs that the government would do all it could to bring development to their areas to enhance the living standards of the people. Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo urged politicians to refrain from over politicizing government's actions, stressing that creating troubles in the country would not help anybody in particular but rather bring about chaos and problems especially to women and children. He cited the recent political turmoil in Cote d'Ivoire as a typical scenario saying Ghana should learn a great lesson from what happened in that country.

The regional minister called on the clergy and traditional rulers to pray for any politician who might decide to fuel trouble in the impending 2012 electioneering campaign to change their mindset for the sake of all Ghanaians. On the government decentralization programme, Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo said everything was on course to promote a typical decentralization system at all levels in the country. Barima Oppong Yaw Buabasa Ababio, Gyaasehene of Dormaa, who represented Osagyefo Oseadeyo Agyemang Badu II, Omanhene of Dormaa, observed that the regional minister's three-day visit to the municipality was historic saying no government official of that ranking had officially stayed that long in the traditional area in lately.

Barima Buabasa appealed to the regional minister to help scrap the bureaucracy on access road maintenance in the municipality which involves seeking the consent of the central government through the municipal Assembly before a contract can be awarded when the local government unit easily manage that on short notice. Barima Buabasa Ababio said most people in the municipality were farmers hence the need to rehabilitate the poor roads to facilitate the transportation of food stuffs from the hinterland to commercial centres. He said Dormaa-Ahenkro and its environs are popularly for livestock and poultry adding, the waste from the industry could be used as organic fertilizer which would go a long way to help farmers and the country as a whole. Barima Buabasa Ababio appealed to the regional minister to work to attract investors into the municipality for the fertilizer production which could also create jobs for the teeming youth. Earlier, Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo had met with the heads of departments and staff of the Municipal Assembly at a similar durbar at the local Assembly hall. He advised the workers to avoid discussing politics whilst on duty emphasizing that whiles everyone had the right to belong to a political party of choice; it would be suicidal for the workers to use most of their working time on political discussions. Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo asked the workers not to openly identify themselves with any political party in order not to create unnecessary divisions which could retard development. The regional minister was well received at the Aboabo number one, two, three and four as he pressed on his tour.