Bono REGSEC, NDC resolve to work together
The Bono Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have resolved to work together for peace and tranquility to prevail in the region to ensure development.
According to the two bodies, the interest of the region should be placed above parochial interests, explaining that “since we all have one aim to better the lot of the people, we should collaborate to ensure peace in order to achieve this goal”.
These came to light when the Bono Regional Minister, Mrs Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson, led the management of the RCC and members of the Bono Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to hold a meeting with the regional executives and parliamentary candidates of the NDC in Sunyani last Wednesday.
The meeting, which was held at the office of the NDC, was used to discuss issues such as the upcoming district-level elections, the 2020 general election, as well as activities of serial callers and how to avoid vigilantism.
Regional minister
Addressing the meeting, Mrs Kumi-Richardson said there was the need for all Ghanaians to guard against the eruption of violence that had characterised politics in other countries in the sub-region and beyond.
“There can be no development if there is no peace. It is the responsibility of everybody to ensure a peaceful region. The interest of the region and the country is paramount and we should, therefore, bury our political differences,” she stated.
Touching on vigilantism, Mrs Kumi-Richardson called on both the NDC and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to speak to their people to use the right channels to address their grievances instead of resorting to violence to mar the peace of the region.
She said the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was very much concerned about the security of the country and had, thus, ensured that the security services were provided with logistics to enable them to be on top of their game.
Mrs Kumi-Richardson thanked the NDC regional executives for their warm reception and expressed the hope that more of such interactions would be done to prove to citizens in the region that “we are all working towards the interest of the region and the welfare of the people”.
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NDC response
Responding, the Bono Regional first Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr Kwadwo Takyi Arhin, described the meeting with the members of the RCC and REGSEC as a “happy and historic moment” and thanked the regional minister for the initiative.
He gave an assurance that the NDC was ready to collaborate with the RCC and REGSEC to prevent violence in the region, but called for the avoidance of selective application of laws.
Mr Arhin appealed to the security services to be principled by treating everybody equally in the implementation of the country’s laws. He stated that the NDC would advise its members to operate within the rule of law.
He advised activists of both the NPP and NDC who phoned in to contribute to radio and television discussions to be circumspect by addressing issues rather than tarnishing the image of people on the other side of the political divide.
Mr Arhin said such a practice was one of the contributory factors that promoted political tension and pledged that the NDC would educate its members to touch on issues rather than personalities.
Other speakers from the NDC side suggested that the meeting should be replicated within the other districts and constituencies.
Lighter note
It was a beauty to behold when Mrs Kumi-Richardson, in her closing remarks, asked the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Banda, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim, to surrender his seat, which is the only NDC seat in the region, to the NPP during the 2020 general election.
Even though Mr Ahmed was not present at the meeting, Mr Arhin jovially replied to the regional minister’s request that the NDC would do so only if the NPP agreed to surrender the Sunyani East seat during the 2020 general election.
The request and subsequent reply were met with laughter by participants to end the meeting in a happy mood.