By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Minister for Interior, Ambrose Derry has disclosed that the Police have intensified patrols within the Sawla Tuna Kalba District to avert confrontation between the community folks and the Fulani herdsmen whose animals continue to destroy farms.
According to him, “the Police have meanwhile intensified patrols within the communities to ensure security”, following the decision taken by the Savannah Regional Security Council in collaboration with the Technical Committee of Eminent Chiefs established by the Savana Regional House of Chiefs in respect to a series of discussions with the leadership of the Fulani herdsmen and educated them on the need to take care of their cattle and prevent them from causing damage to people’s farms and “failure to abide by the rules will lead to the ejection of the herdsmen from their lands”.
He said, “though in the past some cattle owners have been charged and put before court, the initiative by the Savannah Regional House of Chiefs to form a Technical Committee for social cohesion and integrate Fulani herdsmen into the local communities is considered laudable”.
An initiative is also supported by the Regional Security Council to avert unnecessary clashes between farmers and herdsmen.
The Minister was responding to a question asked by Andrew Dari Chiwitey MP for Sawla Tuna Kalba on what urgent steps are being taken by the Ministry to curb the activities of Fulani herdsmen whose animals continue to destroy farms and farm produce thereby posing a security threat.
In other developments, the Interior Ministry has developed permanent operations on highways that have led to the reduction of robberies in communities and highways within Atebubu Amantin enclave.
According to Ambrose Derry, the Police Administration has since 2021 deployed both plain clothes and uniform personnel from the National Counter Terrorism Unit, National SWAT, Bono Regional Rapid Deployment Force and Bono East Regional Operations Unit to augment the strength of the local Police within the Atebubu and Yeji Divisions to combat armed robbery in these areas.
In responding to a question on what concrete policy measures the Ministry of government is putting in place to permanently curb or reduce to the barest minimum the increasing highway robbery in the eastern corridor of the Bono East Region by MP for Atebubu Amantin, Sanja Nanja, the Minister said, the Police also carry out operations such as highway escort and patrol duties in communities such as: Sawaba — Yeji, Prang — Bankama, Zambrama — Abease, Abease — Prang and Yeji — Bolga Nkwanta.
