TASK FORCE TO CHECK VIOLENT ACTIVITIES (D/G Monday October 6, 2008. PAGE 28)

THE Upper East Regional Election Security Task Force has stated that the security agencies in the region will not sit down unconcerned for a few selfish individuals to hold the region to ransom through violent activities.
The task force will, therefore, explore various avenues to get the needed logistics for the various security agencies and solicit the co-operation of political parties to ensure a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the December 7 general election.
The Chairman of the task force, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Alhaji Hamidu Mahama, said this at a meeting with representatives of the various political parties and officials of the Electoral Commission at Bolgatanga.
The meeting was aimed at establishing the ground rules and arriving at a consensus on the smooth conduct of the polls in the region.
ACP Mahama, who is also the Upper East Regional Police Commander, said as part of efforts to promote a peaceful environment the task force had initiated a series of educational programmes targeting political parties, traditional rulers, the youth and women’s groups at the grass-roots level to educate them on the need to embrace peace.
He appealed to residents of the region in particular and Ghanaians in general not to take for granted the current peace and stability the region was enjoying, and appealed to political parties to throw their weight behind the initiative.
While pledging the neutrality of the police and related security agencies, Alhaji Hamaha called on leaders of the various political parties to respect the dictates of the Order Act to erase confusion and conflict from the society.
“Let us create a conducive atmosphere for all peace-loving Ghanaians to operate in,” he said, adding that “if you fail to give us adequate notification of your plans and activities to enable the security agencies to provide the needed security, all the efforts made by the state to create peace will come to naught”.
The Regional Police Commander noted that the long-standing violent conflict in Bawku notwithstanding, the task force was determined to work hard to soften the grounds in Bawku to enable all the political parties to embark on their activities there.
“We will soon open the floodgates for political activities to start in Bawku but anybody who stands in the way of peace will be cleared. We are determined that Bawku should be peaceful for all political parties to go and do whatever they want to do before elections,” he said.
The Police Commander, however, warned that the security agencies would not tolerate any intransigence and promised to deal ruthlessly with anybody who would flout the law.
The Upper East Regional Deputy Director of the EC, Mr Godwin T. Okley, briefed the political parties on the various laws on elections in Ghana and urged them to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the law to ensure a peaceful conduct of the polls.
Mr Evans Klutse, the Regional Commander of CEPS, urged the leadership of the various political parties to let the cordial relations that exist among them permeate their ranks and file, while the Regional Director of the Immigration Service, Mr Daniel Taabazuing, urged the various political parties to be civil in their utterances.
For her part, the Regional Director of Prisons, Mrs Florence Yeboah Acheampong, reminded the political parties of Ghana’s enviable position as the oasis of peace on the African continent and urged them to maintain that reputation.
Contributing to the discussion, a member of the PNC, Mr Johnson Ayine, called on the government to resource state institutions such as the National Commission for Civic Education to enable them to carry out civic education to as many people as possible so as to avoid conflicts in politics.
Other members of the task force present at the meeting were the Regional Crime Officer, Superintendent Emmanuel Frank Adufati, the Regional Security Co-ordinator, Mr Ahmed Mumuni, and a representative of the Regional Chief Fire Officer.