Fanteakwa DCE Raises Alarm

THE DISTRICT Chief Executive (DCE) for Fanteakwa in the Eastern Region, Ebenezer Ofoe Caesar, has expressed worry about Fulani herdsmen whose pronounced activities in the district and adjourning districts like Kwahu South and North continue to pose great danger to security in the area.

Mr. Caesar, who expressed the concern at the assembly's Third Ordinary Meeting at Begoro in the Eastern Region to close the year, said security in the area remained volatile as these herdsmen, who usually carry sophisticated arms, terrorise the indigenes with their operations.

"These Nomadic herdsmen have been terrorizing the people and raping women in the area at random because they are armed."
He noted that herds of cattle belonging to the Fulanis had destroyed large farm lands and polluted streams and lakes which serve as sources of drinking water for the people.

"Such situations bring great tensions between the local people and the Fulanis as the locals may plan to also retaliate."

According to the DCE, to address the problem, cattle owners in the districts had been tasked to form an association and adopt a way to identify their cows, and added that recently, owners of some identified cows which went to destroy some farm produce were made to pay for the destroyed items.

Mr. Caesar thus implored on government and the army to rekindle the "Operation Cow Leg" to drive away the illegal Fulani herdsmen, whose cattle were causing a lot of destruction in the area.

"It is very painful that after suffering to cultivate all these crops, you wake up one day to find out that everything has been destroyed, which means you have also lost your livelihood," he indicated.

In his view, to accelerate development in the district, assembly members ought to eschew partisan politics in their dealings, noting that some development projects in some electoral areas had been stalled because of political rivalry among some assembly members.

"The district assembly concept is non-political and therefore you must not bring your political beliefs to bear on any projects, otherwise it is the people you are representing who suffer."

In terms of revenue, the DCE said the assembly had been able to mobilise 80.14 per cent of the targeted revenue of GH¢65,640.63, which he said was an improvement over last year's.

He announced that the police command in the district had been elevated to a district status, and appealed to the Inspector-General of Police to relocate the Osino Police Station to the Fanteakwa District to ensure effective monitoring of security in the district even as the nation goes to the polls in December this year.

Mr. Caesar called on political parties to let their political campaigns be devoid of violence.

Most of the assembly members complained about the bad road network and inadequate source of drinking water for the people in the district.