UNITE, FORGE AHEAD IN PEACE — DERY (PAGE 13, MAY 21, 2012)

THE Member of Parliament for the Lawra-Nandom Constituency, Mr Ambrose Dery, has made a passionate call on the chiefs and people of the three Northern Regions to unite and forge ahead in peace.
This, he said, was because the three Northern Regions could not continue to be associated with violence when there is a lot they could do to improve the living condition of their people.
Mr Dery expressed grave concern about the incessant cases of violence that had clouded the northern parts of the country and urged all peace loving Northerners to help reverse the trend.
Mr Dery made the call when he addressed a durbar to mark the 10th anniversary celebration of the Sungtaa Nyog women’s group at Lawra in the Lawra district of the Upper West Region.
“Why is it that whenever there is a misunderstanding in the North, it leads to violence? Are we saying that we cannot use dialogue to seek solutions to our grievances?” Mr Dery asked.
Commenting on the recent events in the Upper West Region which led to the removal of the Regional Minister, Mr Mahmud Khalid, Mr Dery called for a cease fire and reminded the people that the President had the prerogative to appoint and dismiss anybody he appointed.
He said protesting violently and above all, invading the precinct of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) to destroy government documents cast a slur on the security situation in the region and must be condemned by all.
Mr Dery, who is also the Deputy Minority Leader in Parliament, advised the youth to always bear in mind that the Upper West in particular was the least developed region in the country and therefore, instead of engaging in such lawlessness, they must rather channel their energies into ventures which would bring development and prosperity to the people.
On the development of women in the region, the MP said women must act as agents of peace since they were at the receiving end in times of violence.
He advised women to use their motherly techniques to convince their children and the youth, many of who were used to forment such troubles, to desist from such practices and be of good behaviour.
He said Northern Ghana was becoming too violent and challenged women to partner men in the crusade to bring peace.
He also called for a change in some cultural practices such as early marriages, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) among other practices which were detrimental to the development of women and appealed to parents to be much concerned about the nutritional needs of their children.
That, he explained, would go along way to check the incidence of maternal and under five mortality cases in the region.
Touching on the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), the Deputy Minority Leader was not happy about the pace with which it was being handled and described the NDC government as a government of broken promises.
He added that as one of the major campaign promises of the NDC, the respective communities must be enjoying the fruits of the SADA by now.
He, therefore, called on the government to make the SADA operational in the shortest possible time in the interest of the people and also to enhance the development of the respective beneficiary communities.