Govt's handling of Yendi conflict leaves much to be desired - Mahama

The leader of the People’s National Convention (PNC), Dr. Edward Mahama has decried the government’s handling of the conflict in the north, saying it leaves much to be desired.

Dr. Mahama told a press conference in the Upper West Regional capital, Wa after visiting some parts of Upper West and East and Northern Regions that the government has reneged on its responsibility of safeguarding life and property and stability of the nation. He accordingly, called on the Kufuor administration to live up to its responsibilities to the people of Ghana.

The PNC’s message to the people in the conflict areas, according to Dr. Mahama is “one of unity and peace.” The party appealed to the people to endeavour to give peace a chance in these turbulence times in their history.

The party is alarmed at the extent to which the nation’s meager resources are being pumped into maintaining peace and order in the conflict areas. “Conflict takes time, destroy properties and sometimes, lives, it also takes effort, energy and resources to repair. In our HIPC circumstances, we can least afford this way of use of meager resources”.

For example the conflict in Bawku has necessitated the stationing of military personnel with a view to establishing a military barracks. According to Dr. Mahama, the estimates are that this will consume the entire common fund share of the Bawku district in the national budget. This means no development project will be undertaken for that period.

Similarly in Wa, some development projects have been stopped in order to divert their funds into maintaining security personnel. It is therefore obvious these conflicts contribute to retard our progress as a nation, Mahama laments.

He accordingly, charged the Kufuor administration to put in place effective machinery for conflict prevention. To him, it is obvious of that in some of these conflicts, pre-emptive, action by government could have avoided the wanton destruction of property and loss of lives.