Debrah

Tamale, Aug. 24, GNA - Mr Ernest Debrah, Northern Regional Minister has said the lifting of the State of Emergency in the Tamale Metropolis and Yendi District was as a result of the improved security situation in the two areas.

Mr Debrah said the move would also pave the way for peaceful conduct of Election 2004.

He said the Northern Region had been peaceful for sometime now, despite "the false claim that the people of the area are still engaged in violent acts".

Mr Debrah commended the Security Services for their efforts at maintaining peace in the Region during the Dagbon crisis. He was addressing day's joint security meeting of Regional Ministers from the Northern, Upper East, Upper West and Brong-Ahafo Regions and top security personnel from the four regions in Tamale on Tuesday.

The meeting deliberated on issues such as armed robbery, cross-border criminal activities and indiscipline on the roads.

Mr Debrah said there was the need for security to be tightened at the borders between the neighbouring Togo, Cote d'Ivoire and Burkina-Faso to control criminal activities, which he said were affecting trade and commerce in the West Africa Sub-Region.

He expressed the hope that the meeting would come out with fruitful suggestions on improving the security situation in the Sub-Region to enable their citizens to carry out their legitimate businesses. Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, appealed to the Security Services to help solve the numerous chieftaincy disputes in his Region, saying: "As Ministers we are handicapped in addressing such issues, since we are not supposed to meddle in chieftaincy matters." He stressed the importance of the chieftaincy institution saying: "The institution permeates all aspects of our daily lives and as such, we should not allow it to deteriorate to the level, where it would lose its sanctity."

Mr Mahami Salifu, Upper East Regional Minister, commended the Security Services for bringing the Bawku chieftaincy dispute under control, noting that, the Government could not succeed without the cooperation of the Security Services.