Veep reiterates call for peace

Mpaha (N/R), Dec. 1, GNA - The Vice-President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama has reiterated his call on the people of the Northern Region to shun conflict and to unite to fight poverty in the area.

He noted that the greatest enemy of the people was poverty and warned those who were creating conflict in the communities to put an end to this saying: "Allah will not be with them".

Alhaji Mahama made the call when he addressed a well-attended political rally at Mpaha in the newly created Central Gonja District as part of his five-day campaign tour of some communities in the Northern Region to canvass for votes for the NPP.

The Vice-President told the people that the government had embarked on infrastructure development and provided tractors to farmers to revolutionise agriculture as a means of alleviating poverty in the Region.

He said the government had also instituted a President's Special Initiative (PSI) on Cotton and Sorghum in the Region and urged the people to avail themselves of the opportunity to embark on a large-scale production of these crops to improve their income levels and their living conditions.

Alhaji Mahama told the people that the government had provided furniture for schools and initiated a relief package for some deprived districts in the Region to cater for the payment of their children's fees at the basic school level.

He announced that the Mpaha main road had been awarded on contract for rehabilitation and work would start soon.

In addition, he said the government would provide Mpaha with a small town water system while efforts would be made to connect the area to the national electricity grid.

The chief of Mpaha, Debrewura Braima Kelli Chire Agoro, expressed dismay at the conflict between the Al-Suna and the Orthodox Muslim sects in the area and called on the government to intervene to unite the people.

He said the conflict had impacted negatively on the development of the area.

The chief appealed to the government to upgrade the health centre in the town to a hospital to enable the facility to render quality health care services to the people.

The Vice-President later introduced Mr Yakubu Zakaria to the people as the NPP parliamentary candidate and urged them to vote massively for him and President John Agyekum Kufuor in the December general election. He gave the assurance that he would team up with Mr Zakaria to bring development projects to the community.

Alhaji Mahama also addressed a similar rally at Kusawgu, also in the Central Gonja District, and later commissioned an electrification project for the people.

The project, which was under the third phase of the Self-Help Electrification Programme (SHEP), was among 35 others that were ready for commissioning out of the 65 of such projects to be executed this year.