We can’t develop with violence – Asunafo North DCE

The District Chief Executive (DCE) for the Asunafo North in the Brong Ahafo Region, Osei Bonsu Snr., has called for peace within the area to boost development According to him, development initiatives can only thrive in a peaceful environment.

He lamented the situation where the assembly’s resources are channeled to maintaining law and order instead of being used to execute development projects.

“A lot of our resources and money coming in are used to pay for the services of the military and police in the district. As of now, we owe a lot concerning military and police visits to the district, so we don’t have money to even execute projects. In fact, we spend GHc 1,200.00 on the patrol team and this should not be the case.

The little revenue we have, we are using it to maintain law and order,” he added. Mr. Bonsu Snr. made the appeal on the sidelines of a district town hall meeting organized by MAP International, a Christian Non Governmental Organization implementing the Ghana Strengthening and Accountability Mechanisms Project (GSAM) in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The interaction was to afford community members the opportunity to demand accountability from contractors and the assembly as well as answer queries on projects being executed in their communities.

The programme is supported by IBIS-Ghana, Integrated Social development Centre (ISODEC), and CARE International, and sponsored by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID).

The DCE pledged to constitute a reconciliation committee to foster peace and unity in the area by bringing all political parties on board for the district’s sustainable development as well as champion effective decentralization processes.

This according to the DCE will help to build trust, good rapport and establish the actual cause of reprisal attacks that have been the source of mistrust between the two main political parties in the district. He promised to turn the fortunes of the district from a conflict ridden area into a business center.

Earlier, the Country Team Leader, Gilbert Asante and Programmes Officer, Nana Ama Tiwa-Boateng of MAP International, took participants through the aims and objectives of the GSAM project, and encouraged them to fully participate in the exercise to promote sustainable development.

She encouraged them to put into use all the skills and knowledge acquired in their training as community monitors, preparation of score cards, monitoring of projects and interface sessions to demand accountability.

Asunafo North is one of the hot spots in the country especially during election periods.

In 2016, some residents of the area vandalized the office of the Electoral Commission during a special exercise to register new voters.