General News of 2013-03-20

Conflict between Kokombas and Bimobas - gov't expresses strong reservations

Government has expressed its strong reservations about the conflict between the Kokombas and Bimobas.

The Vice-President, Mr. Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, described the conflict as unnecessary and unproductive, especially as it was between what he described as "two kins".

He said the government could no longer continue to expend its scarce resources on conflicts that took the lives of people and rendered so many people refugees in their own land.

The Vice-President expressed these sentiments at the Nayiri’s Palace at Nalerigu in the Northern Region Monay.

"I don't know the cause of the conflict, but I know the conflict has destroyed so many things and sent development backward," he said.

He said the recent conflict, like others, had caused the government a huge chunk of resources which should have been channeled into healthier and productive ventures for the benefit of the people.

"I came here to see the damage caused by the floods and how to bring lasting peace to the area," Mr.Amissah-Arthur told the people.

He appealed to them to avoid conflict, saying, "Ghana needs peace for development. We cannot develop if there is constant conflict.”

He commended the security forces deployed to the area for their swift response to restore peace in the area.

The King of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Nayiri Naa Bohagu Mahami Abdulai, also described the conflict as unnecessary.

He said since the trouble began, he had done all he could to bring lasting peace to the area.

He commended the government for the swift dispatch of security personnel to the area which prevented a catastrophe.

The Vice-President also visited the Gushegu Senior High School where a severe storm destroyed a number of classroom blocks and displaced about 2,000 students.

He assured the students and the school authorities that the government would do its best to ensure that the structures were repaired as early as possible to prevent the interruption of the academic calendar.

He was also at Yendi where many facilities, including the Gbewaa Palace, the NADMO office, the offices of the Ghana Health Service, among others, had their fair share of the destruction.

At the Gbewaa palace, the Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Yakubu Abdulai, commended the government for sending relief items to the people.

Vice-President Amissah-Arthur urged the people to take the government’s greening programme seriously, since that would lessen the effect of storms on the area.

He further visited areas affected by the disaster in Tamale and its environs.

The National Coordinator of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), Mr Kofi Portuphy, said everything was being done by the government to alleviate the suffering of the victims of the disaster.

About 155 houses located in the Nyanshegu/Gumani Electoral Area and Kalpohini were destroyed by the storm.

Last week, a similar disaster occurred in the Savelugu-Nantom District which affected 10 communities. Four hundred and seventy two people were rendered homeless, while 101 houses, including 15 classroom blocks, had their roofs ripped off.