Bole (N/R), August 22, GNA - The government has so far spent 15 billion cedis on security personnel keeping peace in the Dagbon State, Mr Ernest Debrah, Northern Regional Minister has said.

The amount excluded miscellaneous expenses such as travelling and mediation allowances of officials involved in resolving the crisis. Mr Debrah said this at a durbar of chiefs and people of Bole to conclude his two-day tour of the southern parts of the District on Tuesday.

He said every region in the country experience conflict but said unlike the other ones conflicts in the region are difficult to resolve. The Minister advised people who fund conflicts in the region to desist from such activities since they retard development and progress in the area.

He urged the youth to demand from people who lure them into conflicts to let their children lead them to taste the bitterness.

Mr Debrah said some roads in the district had been awarded on contract and appealed to the people to be patient with the government.

He said the government had chosen the district among other ones in the country for cashew cultivation and appealed to the chiefs to release land for the purpose.

Paramount chief of the Bole Traditional Area, Bole-Wura Amankwa Gbedesi II, commended government's efforts to develop the district.

He however expressed regret that even though the region is among the deprived ones in the country it was very often associated with conflicts, some of which have escalated into civil wars resulting in the loss of lives and property.

The Bole-Wura said the district was enjoying relative peace with no single chieftaincy or land dispute and commended the various ethnic groups in the area for their co-operation and peaceful co-existence. He assured the government that the chiefs would continue to serve as a strong link to foster unity among the people, saying, "We will continue to pursue the interest of our people to ensure peace in our area".

The Bole-wura re-echoed the call by the chiefs and people of Gonjaland to the government for the creation of a separate region for the area to enhance development.

He said: "If we are ever to aspire towards development or benefit from the national cake, then, there should be a break up of the Northern Region", adding, "it is simply too big and cumbersome to administer". Bole-wura Gbedesi appealed to the government to post a medical officer to the district hospital and also support it with staff and equipment to ensure efficient health care delivery.

He said some assembly members in the area did not respect chiefs in the communities, noting that the situation has created divisions among the people, as they cannot come together to undertake development projects.

He said "as leaders and representatives of the people in the communities, we have to show integrity, self-respect and commitment to our people so that there would be peace and harmony among us".