FIRST BONO REGIONAL COORDINATING COUNCIL MEETING IN 2024 HELD IN SUNYANI – MINISTER UNHAPPY ABOUT CHIEFTAINCY DISPUTES

Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Honourable Bono Regional Minister, has expressed deep concern over the ongoing chieftaincy disputes plaguing the Bono Region, highlighting the detrimental impact on the region’s socio-economic development.

She however commended security agencies and the Municipal and District Security Committees for their resilient hard work towards sustaining the prevailing peace of the region.

Speaking at the first Bono Regional Coordinating Council meeting for 2024, held at the Residency in Sunyani, she emphasized the urgent need to address these conflicts.

The Minister noted that the persistent chieftaincy disputes have caused significant distress for both the District Security Council (DISEC) and the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), particularly during the past Christmas and Easter festivities.

“Currently, the Sampa chieftaincy disputes are the most severe. Since June 2023, these disputes have escalated, leading to intermittent clashes between the two factions, resulting in four deaths and numerous injuries,” she stated.

“Sampa now has two competing chiefs. To restore calm and peace, a curfew has been imposed on the community, and substantial resources have been spent on security personnel to maintain order,” she added.

The Regional Minister also reminded that the country had chosen democratic path of government, and therefore advised everybody to exercise caution and to guide against any form of provocative language and behavior that would cause mayhem in the country.

“We must understand that politics is about resource distribution and not a do and die affair,” Madam Owusu-Banahene stated, and advised everybody to embrace peace for Ghana to remain a beacon of democracy and peace in the West Africa Sub-region, if not Africa as a whole.