There cannot be development without peace – Minister

Bede Anwataazumo Ziedeng, Northern Regional Minister, has appealed to traditional leaders in the region to support government in its efforts to maintain peace to facilitate rapid development.

“Anytime violence occur properties and human lives are lost and it retrogresses the development of these areas. Whatever the issue may be, one of the effective and efficient methods of conflict resolution is dialogue,” he said.

Mr Ziedeng made the appeal when he led a delegation from the Northern Regional Coordinating Council to pay a working visit to the Overlord of the Mamprugu Traditional Area, Naa Bohagn Mahami Abdulai Sheriga.

The visit was part of the minister's activities to formally introduce himself to the traditional chiefs as the government appointee to the region.

He said the vision of government to partner local people and chiefs to accelerate economic transformation to improve the livelihood of the region could not be successful if the volatile ethnic clashes did not cease.

“It is out of this transformation that more jobs would be created for the many unemployed youth, bridge the wide gap between the south and the north and break the poverty cycle in the region,” he said.

Mr Ziedeng called on the chiefs to support the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority in its quest to introduce initiatives in the areas of agriculture, industrial, environment and building of roads to improve the welfare of the people.

Naa Bohagn Sheriga welcomed the minster and his entourage and expressed worry about the recent renewed clashes in the area but promised to continue to dialogue with all parties involved to ensure that relative peace returned to the area.

“We are ever ready to team up with government and other development partners to make the area a best place to live,” he said.