Catholic Bishop says recent incident at Yendi is unfortunate

Yendi, (N/R), Sept 19, GNA - The Catholic Bishop of Yendi, the Most Reverend Vincent Sowah Boi-Nai has described the recent disturbances at Yendi in which three people died as "unfortunate".

He said if the youth were alive they would have contributed their quota to national development and called on the chiefs and other opinion leaders to instil discipline in their children to help create a peaceful environment for development.

Bishop Boi-Nai expressed these sentiments at a Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Committee meeting with the Abudu and Andani Royal Gates at Yendi on Monday.

He urged members of the two gates to educate the people against the use of abusive language and taking to arms at the least provocation, adding that they should build "bridges of understanding" among the people.

The Bishop asked the committee, whose members are both Abudus and Andanis, to continue to sensitise the youth about the process of the "Roadmap to Peace" document to enable them have an informed mind and be able to say no to people who would want to use them for their selfish ends.

He advised the people in the area to insulate traditional matters from politics, saying: "You should not allow politics to take central stage in traditional structures".

Bishop Boi-Nai appealed to the government and its development partners to establish cottage industries in the area to open employment avenues for the youth instead of allowing them to engage in anti social activities.

Alhaji Mohammed Asibi Azonko, Yendi District Coordinating Director, urged the Peace Committee to collaborate with members of the Council of Elders to address some of the issues affecting the youth.

He reminded the people in the town that the Gbewaa Palace and its precincts were restricted to the public and urged them to co-operate with the security personnel to maintain peace for the development of the district.