PRESIDENT'S INTERVENTION IN BAWKU CONFLICT LAUDED (PAGE 25)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bawku

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has commended President J.A. Kufuor for his personal intervention in the Bawku crisis which has led to the gradual return of peace to the town.
He said the conflict, which some few weeks ago seemed not to be abating, seemed to have abated since the President held separate talks with the leaders of the two feuding factions at the Castle in Accra.
He pointed out that before the President intervened, the curfew was from 3.00 p.m. to 7.00 a.m. but that had been extended a number of times because of the relative stability in the area to the current 10.00 p.m. to 4.00 a.m.
 The minister assured the people of Bawku that the curfew would be extended further or lifted completely if they conducted themselves properly and lived by the laws of the country.
 Mr Samari made the remark at the seventh annual conference of the Northern Presbytery held at Garu in the Garu-Tempane District.
 “I am particularly happy about the laudable overall objectives of the church, which does not limit itself only to the preaching of the word of God but also goes out to involve itself in the provision of social and development services such as health, education, agriculture, water harvesting and the rehabilitation of the physically challenged,” he added.
“This, undoubtedly, exemplifies the oft-quoted portion of the Holy Scripture to the effect that ‘man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’,” Mr Samari said.
 The regional minister commended the leadership of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana for its intimate knowledge of the socio-economic problems confronting the people and making valuable contributions over the years as part of crucial efforts at improving the living standards of the people.
 He appealed to the church to assist the Bawku peace process to bring lasting peace to the many ethnic groups in the area which lived in mutual suspicion of one another.
 The Chairman of the Northern Presbytery, Rev Kwasi Addae Naami, said the Presbytery had put in place an educational strategic plan — 2007 to 2010 — aimed at addressing the inadequate number of trained teachers, teaching and learning materials, as well as the low enrolment of girls in schools.
He said the plan would benefit from a yearly amount of £100,000.00, with support from the Oikonomos Foundation and PRISMA.
 “One of the components of the project is the scholarship package which will sponsor 15 students in training colleges so that at the end of their studies they will serve in Presbyterian schools,” he added.
 Rev Naami mentioned the establishment of an ICT resource centre for Presbyterian institutions in Tamale.
 He praised four districts of the church — Bolgatanga, Garu, Sandema and Tamale (rural and urban) — for setting up credit unions which would go a long way to meet the financial needs of their members and urged the remaining districts to do same.
 The Garu-Tempane District Chief Executive, Mr Emmanuel Sin-Nyet Asigri, whose speech was read on his behalf, thanked the Presbyterian Church for the assistance given to the people of the district through the Garu Presby Agricultural Station, the community-based rehabilitation centre and relief items to flood victims.