Tamale, March 4, GNA - Mr. Kan Dapaah, Minister of Interior, has
appealed to people in the Northern Region not to take issues of peace
for granted, saying: "If we are hungry and poor it is better than to
be at war".
He said even though there was relative peace in the region, the
Northern Region Peace Advisory Committee (NORPAC) and the security
agencies should not loose sight of pockets of trouble spots and issues
that have the potential of escalating into conflict.
"Peace and normalcy returning to the region, especially Dagbon
should not be misconstrued that we have been able to unravel all the
issues that are on the ground", he said.
Mr. Dapaah made the appeal at a meeting with members of the
Northern Region Security Council and NORPAC who briefed him on the
security situation in the region on Saturday, in Tamale.
The Interior Minister is on a four-day working tour of the region
to pay courtesy calls on chiefs and visit security organisations to
interact with them to know of the security challenges facing them with
the view to helping to address them.
Mr. Dapaah urged all stakeholders in the Dagbon chieftaincy
disputes to work assiduously to secure a sustainable peace for the
people to enhance development.
He called on the media to complement the government's efforts by
helping to persuade the people to always to resort to dialogue rather
than taking to arms at the least provocation.
He said people in the region must move away from confrontation to
cooperation and dialogue as the hallmark of improving relationship
with one another.
"Our enemy is not a single political regime or person, group of
persons or religion or ideology, rather our enemy is poverty
underdevelopment and disease", he said.
The Minister urged the people to avoid making concessions to
agitators', saying: "They should also make no distinction between such
people and those who knowingly harbour or provide aid to them".
Mr. Dapaah therefore appealed to all concerned people in the
region to participate actively in helping the security agencies to
arrest all those who foment trouble and bring them to book to serve as
a deterrent to others.
Alhaji Mustapha Ali Idris, Northern Regional Minister, who is the
Chairman of the Regional Security Council said because peace was
returning to Dagbon, six banks including Intercontinental Bank, Home
Financing Company and Zenith Bank, were establishing their branches in
Tamale.
He called on political parties in the region to work together with
other stakeholders in the Dagbon chieftaincy dispute to find a lasting
solution to the crisis.
Mr. Dapaah earlier presented office equipment including computers
and accessories to the NORPAC to enhance its secretariat operations in
appreciation of the good works of the organisations towards sustaining
peace in the region.
04 Mar 07