Regional News of Saturday, 3 June 2017

Source: Abraham Ananpansah

Damongo youth embark on civil action

Angry Youth Angry Youth

Some concerned youth of Damongo in the West Gonja District of the Northern Region embarked on a civil action yesterday, Friday June 2nd.

The youth seized a vehicle carrying charcoal in commercial quantity and despite several official receipts shown by the driver of the vehicle from Yagbonwura Palace, Gonja Traditional Council and the Kuntokure & Nkparipe Gates covering his right to move, the unfazed youth insisted the vehicle will not leave the district under their watch.

The youth disclosed they were acting on the authority of a letter from the king and president of Gonja Traditional Council banning commercial charcoal burning and rosewood harvesting from the Gonja Traditional Area.

The action they said was an attempt to guide and guard the authority and words of the overlord as contained in the said letter from being flagrantly flouted with impunity.

However, the angry youth insisted the long vehicle be moved to the police station and later to the assembly for the law to take its full cause as earlier agreed upon by the Traditional Council and the Assembly.

The chief and President of Gonja Traditional Council, Yagbonwura Tutumba Boresa1, in a letter dated, 24th April, 2017, banned the aforementioned activities from the Gonja Traditional Area effective May, 2017.

But at a DISEC meeting attended by all stakeholders, the Yagbonwura and his sub chief’s, the DCE, security apparatus inter alia with the exception of the youth, the grace period of the ban was extended.

This notwithstanding, the youth insisted the right thing is done. They insisted the assembly must take Ghc200 as quota of revenue before the vehicle is allowed to move out of the district to avoid revenue evasion after realizing the assembly had not issued a receipt covering the content of the vehicle.

The youth were highly commended for their action by the assembly and authorized in the circumstance, to get their own receipt and start mobilizing revenue in such manner to support the community