Government’s policies can only strive in peaceful environment -Chieftaincy Minister

The Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, said the government’s pro-poor policies can only yield the desired results in an atmosphere devoid of conflict.

He said peace was a catalyst that could create the enabling environment for the implementation of the government’s programmes and policies for economic development and called on the people of Bawku to collaboratively work to ensure a peaceful and conducive environment to propel the needed development.

Hon. Boateng made the statement at the 36th Samapiid festival (2023) of the Chiefs and people of the Bawku Traditional Area in the Upper East Region.

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The festival was celebrated under the theme: “Effective Conflict Resolution and Security Management for Kusaug Development the Role of all Stakeholders.”

Speaking, he said it is the government’s conviction that its policy initiatives serve as a catalyst for development in the various communities and create employment opportunities for the citizenry, especially in the rural communities.

The Sector Minister said agriculture was the bedrock of the economy and it was imperative to make it attractive to the youth, “That is why the government, despite the odds, is investing heavily in the Planting for Food and Jobs phase II and many other such interventions.”

He added that development could also be achieved on the back of education, and as a result, the government had given utmost priority to the education of the Ghanaian child under the Free Senior High School (FSHS) as well as Free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).

Hon. Boateng said the theme was appropriate and timely, considering the negative impact of the conflict for the past two years which affected development in the area.

The Bawku Municipal Chief Executive, Hon Hamza Amadu, said the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) was revived and was hopeful that it would accelerate the peace process in the area.

He said despite the challenges that confronted the area, the Assembly made strides in its development agenda, and that between October and November this year, the Assembly awarded about 15 projects under the Gulf of Guinea Northern Social Cohesion (SOCO) Project.

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Hon. Amadu said that new CHPS Compounds were constructed at Missga, Kpalweiga, Kpalore, Tampizua, Gumakutare, and Possum, adding that the government had also constructed a modern AstroTurf Sports facility, 48 lockable stores as part of phase I, II and lll and a Banking Hall.

He said a 6.2-kilometre road from the Bawku Senior Technical School through to the Zoogo and Missga stretch.

In a speech read on behalf of Bawku Naba, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, was not pleased with the Nayiri’s interference in the Bawku Conflict and questioned “Why did Nayiri decide to enkin someone as Bawku Naba when there is a legitimate Bawku Naba?”

He said the Mamprusi Traditional rule in Bawku ended in 1957 through a due process and since then, no entity of competent jurisdiction ever turned that ruling.

He recalled that attempts were made in 2003 by the Mamprusi in the Supreme Court to depose the current Bawku Naba on grounds that Asigri Abugrago Azoka II did not hail from alleged qualified Mamprusi Gate when indeed the Mamprusi rule was terminated in 1957.

Naba Azoka II also questioned the seeming silence of stakeholders and religious leaders in the endless conflict that saw a lot of deaths and affected normal life in Bawku and its environs.

He, therefore, appealed to them to speak about the needless killing in Bawku for peace to prevail.

SOURCE: Coverghana.com.gh