Parliamentary Committee To Probe Activities Of Normadic Herdsmen
Parliament has constituted a 13-member special committee to investigate alleged criminal activities of normadic herdsmen believed to be of Fulani descent in the country.
The leadership of the House was directed to constitute the committee following a statement made by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi, Mr Peter Wiafe Pepera, on the invasion of Dwerebease, located in the Kwahu East District in the Eastern Region, by herdsmen believed to be Fulanis to graze their cattle on the farmlands of the people of the community.
The committee is chaired by the MP for Mion, Alhaji Yakubu Alhassan, while the MP for Amenfi East, Mr Joseph Boahen Aidoo, is the Vice-Chairman. Other members are Mr Haruna Bayirga (Sissala West), Mr Albert Abongo (Bongo), Mr Simon Edem Asimah (South
Dayi), Mr Theophilus Tettey Chaie (Ablekuma Central), Mr Francis Kojo Arthur (Gomoa West), Mr Wiafe Pepera (Abetifi), Mr Anyimadu
Antwi (Asante Akim North), Mr Kwame Ampofo-Twumasi (Nkoranza South), Mr Dominic Nitiwul (Bimbilla), Hajia Halutie Dubie
Alhassan (Sissala East) who is also a Minister of State at the Presidency, and Ms Sherry Ayorkor Botchway (Weija).
The terms of reference of the committee are to investigate allegations of misconduct, including criminal acts, by herdsmen in Dwerebease, Agogo, investigate the ethnic background of the herdsmen and inquire into the manner of their entry into the country.
It is also to investigate the effects of the activities of the herdsmen on human life, property and the environment.
The committee is to make recommendations to forestall future occurrence of such incidents and also make any recommendations that it might deem appropriate.
It has 10 weeks to submit its report.
Even though the Speaker directed that a nine-member committee be constituted, the leadership increased the number to 11 as a result of the widespread nature of the problem and the fact that it existed in all the regions.
The leadership concluded that it was important that, to the largest extent possible, the committee should have representation from all the 10 regions.
Moving the motion for the adoption of the report of the leadership, the Majority Leader, Mr Cletus Avoka, stated that the House received the news about the killing of 12 Fulanis with shock and deep regret.
He called on Ghanaians not to take the law into their own hands and kill people, since it was always good to allow the due process of the law to take its full course.
Mr Avoka expressed concern over the recent agitation for the destoolment of the Paramount Chief of the Agogo Traditional Area, Nana Akuoko Sarpong, praying that the matter be curtailed while efforts were being made to find a lasting solution to the issue.
But before his motion was seconded, the Speaker, Mrs Joyce Bamford-Addo, raise an issue with the composition of the committee, which originally had no female member. Her query ensured that two female MPs were added to the original 11-members to enlarge the membership to 13.
Seconding the motion, the Deputy Minority Leader, Mr Ambrose Dery, acknowledged that the issue posed a challenge to the very existence of Ghanaians and so as representatives of the people, there was the need for MPs to act.
He, however, advised Ghanaians not to take the law into their own hands, adding that the laws of the country did not allow for discrimination against non- Ghanaians.
Contributing to the debate, the MP for Asawase, Alhaji Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak, said the tendency to criminalise the Fulani people was not the best and cautioned that Ghanaians needed to be careful about their action, since it could result in retaliation by other countries in the sub-region.
For his part, the MP for Manhyia, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, called for a sustained effort to combat the threat posed by the activities of the nomads.