University don suggests to government to tax Fulani herdsmen

Bolgatanga, June 21, GNA - Professor David Millar, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University for Development Studies, has suggested to the government to tax Fulani herdsmen who bring their animals to graze in the country. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency at a National Desertification Forum in Boltgatanga he said the herdsmen come from Burkina, Mali and Niger and that governments of these countries tax them heavily. He said they had seen Ghana as a safe-haven because they feed their animals free of charge.

Prof Millar said the huge number of animals the herdsmen drive into the country caused over-grazing and would promote desertification and taxing them would reduce the number.

He suggested to the District Assemblies especially those in the tree northern regions to take advantage of the situation to increase their revenue base.

Prof Millar said because of the ECOWAS protocols it would be difficult to entirely do away with the Fulani herdsmen and suggested that specific forest reserves should be marked as no go areas for Fulani headsmen. He said one of the best ways to protect the environment and prevent desertification was to empower traditional authorities and communities with resources, alternative means of livelihood and incentives to encourage them. Prof Millar said traditional authorities had the ability to deal with desertification than the imposition of by-laws.