Tamale, the capital city of the Northern Region, is feverishly getting ready to host the 62nd national Independence Day anniversary parade of the security agencies and schoolchildren.

The Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo together with some delegations on Monday paid courtesy calls on Yaa-Na Abubakari Mahama II, and other traditional leaders in the Northern Region.

This formed part of his three-day visit to the Northern Region to educate citizens on the Ghana Beyond Aid (GBA) project as well as solicit and harness their views and concerns on how to improve on the project.

The Ghana Beyond Aid is a national and non-partisan initiative which aims at helping to ensure effective harnessing of the country's resources and deploying them effectively and efficiently for rapid economic development and social transformation.

Mr Osafo-Maafo addressing the Yaa-Na in Yendi, said GBA was the vision of government and will seek to encourage all citizens to have a change in attitude and work ethics to help boost productivity in the country devoid of external support.

He said the country was blessed with lots of resources, but its development rate was slow and that efforts needed to be put in place to help put the resources into productive use.

Mr Osafo-Maafo called on the Ya Naa and citizens in the region to support the government in realising its vision.

The Yaa Na Abubakari Mahama II, assured the Minister of his support to make the government's vision a reality.

He said access to quality education was a challenge in the area and as part of his efforts to enhance the quality of education, he acquired 500 acres land for the establishment of a satellite campus of the University for Development Studies in the Yendi area and appealed to the Minister for support in developing the satellite campus.

He appealed to the Minister to use his outfit to help lobby for more boreholes for the Yendi area to help ensure that the citizens had equitable access to potable water, especially during the dry season.

source: ghanaweb.com

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, has applauded President Akufo-Addo for bringing peace to Dagbon.

“Special thanks are reserved for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for his personal investment in the efforts at bringing the protracted conflict to an end,” Dr. Chambas said during the 2019 Damba Festival Celebration Lecture in Tamale.

The King of Dagbon, Ya-Na Abukari II, says the use of violence as a means of settling misunderstandings between youth groups in communities will no longer be countenanced by the traditional authorities in Dagbon.

The Ya-Na said the only sustainable approach to the effective settlement of communal disputes and disagreement is through continued dialogue and compromises.

Dr  Mohammed Ibn Chambas,  United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa  and the Sahel  (UNOWAS) has challenged well-meaning Ghanaians, especially, the people of the north to team up to sustain peace and unity in the Dagbon kingdom.

He stated that for peace and unity in the Dagbon to remain absolute, it was prudent for all to help sustain the current peace and unity being enjoyed in the area.

Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and Sahel, has proposed the establishment of a Dagbon Peace Committee to work with other interest groups to respond to threats to peace in the area before they degenerate into conflicts.

He said membership of the proposed Dagbon Peace Committee should be broad and include all sections and segments of people including women, the youth and all communities within the Kingdom to promote unity.