The paramount chief of Paga, Pe Nalunga Awiah Awumpaga II, has urged his people to heighten awareness and vigilance in the border town to curb the spillover of activities of terrorists and cross-border criminals.
Pe Awumpaga said although the government has strengthened the number of security personnel in the area over the years, the unfolding activities of terrorists in neighbouring Burkina Faso called for the citizenry to support the government’s effort by staying highly alert and reporting suspicious characters to the security agencies.
Speaking at his 50th-anniversary durbar in Paga on Saturday (25 June), he stated that the presence of personnel from agencies such as the police, immigration, and army among others, has remarkably improved the security situation of the town and now residents are able to go about their economic and social activities peacefully.
He said, “with almost all the National Security agencies (that is the police, immigration service, customs service and recently, the army) present and alert in Paga, it has resulted in a remarkable improvement in the security of Paga and its environs.
“Social life has increasingly been good and very enjoyable since 1972. Our initial contribution to this remarkable security presence was our provision of office space for a police station and residential accommodation for the personnel in 1997.”
The Paga-Pio said the efforts of the government in combating crime notwithstanding, there is the need to reinforce the military presence in Paga.
He stated his support for the government’s “see something, say something” campaign, adding “We must all support the security agencies in order not to jeopardise our long-enjoyed peace and stability.”
Roads infrastructure
On road infrastructure, the Paga-Pio urged the government to prioritise improving roads in Paga to attract investors.
He said notable roads such as the Paga- Chiana- Kayoro road in the West and Paga- Sirigu- Kandiga – Mirigu Road in the East of the district, needed great improvement to reduce the suffering of the people and spur up economic activities.
The respected chief further urged the government to prioritise the early reconstruction of the Navio steel bridge, bridges and culverts over major rivers to facilitate the easy movement of people and goods, especially during the rainy seasons.
“Our district has seven Paramountcies overseeing a total of 134 communities/settlements zoned into the Central, the West and the East.
There is therefore the need to construct bridges and culverts on a lot of our roads to enable all-year-round vehicular access from Paga to Chiana and Kayoro in the West through Kajelo and Pindaa and to Sirigu, Kandiga and Mirigu in the East. This is because the rivers and streams which traverse the roads swell up in the rainy season and cut off many communities from their farms and the market centres.”
Disputes
For his part, the Upper East regional minister, Stephen Yakubu, who represented the president, called for the support of the Paga-Pio and other chiefs to fight against chieftaincy and land disputes in the region.
He said disputes were a major factor that continued to stand in the way of the region’s progress and derailing the development efforts of the government.
Yakubu used the occasion to call for a ceasefire in the Bawku, Bolgatanga and Doba-Kandiga disputes to ensure rebound peace and vibrant economic activities.
“As Ghanaians, our revered chiefs and elders cannot realise our dreams if we allow chieftaincy and land disputes as well as indiscriminate bushing burning, armed robbery and fertiliser smuggling to become endemic in our society because it deters investors.
“I wish you use this platform to call on all factions in the Bawku area, Bolgatanga and Doba-Kandiga disputes to resort to dialogue to resolve the impasse. The security situation in the region is causing huge expenditure on the assemblies, thus funds meant for health and educational facilities are used to maintain law and order.”
The regional minister said, although the country was experiencing its share of the devastation brought on the world by the covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, there was going to be a turnaround in the economic predicament of the country.
He noted that the various policies and programs of the Akufo-Addo-led government were going to help the country’s economy leap back to shape.
Economic turnaround
The regional minister said, although the country was experiencing its share of the devastation brought on the world by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, there was going to be a turnaround in the economic predicament of the country.
He noted that the various policies and programmes of the Akufo-Addo-led government were going to help the country’s economy leap back to shape.
He said, “the world is currently undergoing some economic crisis largely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict and Ghana is not exempted. Our special prayer is required to take the country out of this predicament. With the programs and hard work of His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s government, this temporal situation will soon be changed for the better.”
Senyalah Castro
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