The Minister designate for Interior, Prosper Bani, has given a firm assurance he will tackle head-on the recurring impasse between residents of Agogo and Fulani herdsmen in the Ashanti Region.
Describing the situation as “resource-based conflicts,” Prosper Bani told the Vetting Committee of Parliament on Thursday, that when given the nod as the Interior Minister, he will adopt a systematic and integrated approach in addressing the issue.
[contextly_sidebar id=”sVgXGEJnshwEaBCweWFcU7UHOwu7RFDF”]Residents of Agogo have accused the nomadic herdsmen of destroying their crops and also killing their relatives.
They have thus vowed to take on the herdsmen after a farmer was allegedly shot and killed by one of the Fulanis.
The residents have repeatedly accused government of failing to act on a court order three years ago that recommended the eviction of the Fulanis.
Meanwhile, a special joint taskforce of military and Police personnel had recently been dispatched to Agogo to evict the violent Fulanis herdsmen from the area.
Prosper Bani explained that the nomadic activities was a tradition that cuts across countries and cited similar examples in Uganda and Kenya, where he said violence led to the destruction of farmlands and instigated minor conflicts.
He further bemoaned the proliferation of illicit weapons in the country which he said was in the region of 2.3 million, lamenting that it was a scary phenomenon.
He assured that when given the approval, one of his priorities would be to secure the borders of Ghana and also train and retool security personnel in the use of surveillance instruments to be able to detect weapons smuggled into the country.
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By: citifmonline.com