Minister calls for due regard for peace council(D/G Wednesday, June 11, 2008. pp 31)

THE Upper East Regional Minister, Mr Alhassan Samari, has called on the feuding parties in the Bawku conflict to have due regard for the National Peace Council in its quest to help restore peace in the area.He made the call when the General Manager in charge of Newspapers of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, paid a courtesy call on him at his office in Bolgatanga.According to the regional minister, the return of peace to the area would not only accelerate the pace of development but also help to restore the image of the region, which was now associated with violence.Mr Samari congratulated the media, particularly the GCGL group of papers, on the effective and efficient manner in which they had covered the issues in Bawku and called on them to use their media to promote unity to speed up the development of the region.He, however, bemoaned the late arrival of the newspapers in the region and urged the company to explore other options such as airlifting the papers to Tamale to facilitate the early arrival of the newspapers in the region.Mr Samari also noted that the lack of vehicles was the major problem confronting journalists in the region, adding that it sometimes restricted their movement and appealed to the management of the GCGL and other media houses to support their staff with vehicles.He thanked the general manager for his visit and gave the assurance that his office would continue to collaborate with and support the media in the region in the performance of their work.Responding, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh said the conflict brought no good to anybody, as it had led to the destruction of homes and property that would take a long time to restore.He, therefore, expressed the hope that the National Peace Council would succeed in bringing peace to the Bawku municipality.He also called on both sides of the conflict to exercise restraint and continue to live in peace and harmony with one another and contribute to the progress of the region.The general manager, who was in the region to interact with the staff of the company and discuss with them the challenges facing them in the discharge of their duties, said measures were being put in place to ensure the early delivery of the company's products to the region.He said the management of the group had put a delivery van on the Tamale route, adding that very soon a new printing plant would be installed to ensure faster printing and early dispatch of the papers.Meanwhile, Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh has toured the Bawku area to access the situation there. He paid a courtesy call on the Bawku Naba, Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, and interacted with some opinion leaders of the Mamprusi community.He appealed to both sides to collaborate with the National Peace Council and the Regional and Municipal Security committees to ensure the return of peace to the area.Mr Boadu-Ayeboafoh was accompanied by the Senior Zonal Manager of the GCGL in charge of the Northern, Upper East and Upper West regions, Mr Michael Kofi Baga, and the Regional Correspondent of the group’s newspapers, Mr Benjamin Xornam Glover.