General News of Monday, 7 December 2009

Source: GNA

President: Government will not tolerate culture of impunity

Tamale, Dec. 7, GNA - President John Evans Atta Mills has told Ghanaians that his government would not tolerate the culture of impunity and lawlessness that characterised previous administrations. He said the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) would use lawful means to dispense justice to the people.

President Mills gave the assurance when he addressed a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Northern Region in Tamale on Sunday as part of his four-day tour of the region.

He said government would bring justice to the people of Dagbon by finding the murderers of Ya-na Yakubu Andani II as part of its commitment to the rule of law.

The President said those who perpetuated the killings and destruction of property at Gushegu prior to the 2008 general election would also be brought to justice.

He said the government would not spare any individual or group of people who take the law into their own hands since the country belongs to all Ghanaians and all must live by the law. The Minister of Communication Mr. Haruna Iddrisu said bringing peace to Dagbon was the most prominent issue the government was going to tackle and urged the chiefs and people to exercise restrain while efforts were being made to offer them lasting justice.

He said government had taken a number of steps to restore peace in Bawku but was left to the people to give peace a chance. The General Secretary of the NDC, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia asked the people to take advantage of the prevailing peace in the area to do their daily businesses effectively without any fear. He called on them to continue to give the NDC their full support to be able to achieve the set development target. Kumbung Naa Abu Yiri II, who represented the Chiefs of Western Dagbon appealed to the government to rehabilitate dams in the region and modernise agriculture to enable to farmers to increase their yield.