Wa, Aug 19, GNA - Government has been urged to establish a permanent military barracks in the Upper West Region to help manage insecurity and conflict situations. Lieutenant-Colonel Isaa Awuah-Mantey, Commanding Officer of the Airborne Force in Tamale said this was necessary because region was bedevilled with chieftaincy disputes. He said the situation has the potential of escalating to communal violence and ethnic conflicts, which needed proper handling by all stakeholders. Lt-Col Awuah-Mantey made the suggestion when a Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and Interior, paid a working visit to the detachment of the Airborne Force based in Wa on Tuesday. The Committee is on a two-day tour of security agencies under its mandate to find out the problems facing the personnel, with the view to addressing them.

Lt-Col Awuah-Mantey said the mission of the unit was to assist the people to maintain peace, law and order in the region. He said the soldiers were also checking arms trafficking and undertaking boarder patrols to secure peace for the people. Lt-Col Awuah-Mantey announced that a security taskforce had been formed to help monitor the December 7 polls to ensure peaceful elections.

He called for adequate resources for the unit, especially in the areas of transport and communication, to ensure effective monitoring of the elections.

Lt-Col Awuah-Mantey appealed to stakeholders especially leaders of political parties, to educate their supporters to do the right things on elections day, to promote free and fair and violence-free elections in the country.

Mr Eugene Atta Agyepong, Chairman of the Committee, gave the assurance that the Committee would work hard to get the needed support for the unit to facilitate its operations. Earlier, the Committee called on the Deputy Upper West Regional Minister, Madam Asibi Bawa Dy-Yakah who briefed the 18-member committee on the security situation in the region. She told them about the recent flooding of rivers in the Wa East district resulting in the death of one person from Sombisi. She said the floods had also washed away three bridges on the Wa-Funsi-Kuudungu road, cutting away the communities from the rest of the region. A Metro Bus that had been plying the area had been locked up and there were indications that the bus would not be able to come to Wa until next year.