The Upper West Regional Minister, Dr Hafiz Bin-Salih, has expressed disappointment at Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) for being late for a Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) meeting last Tuesday.

The session was fixed on 14th May 2019 at 0900 hours for the RCC members to have their ordinary deliberations and also for a team from the National Security Ministry to brief the house about ways to counter violent extremism in the Region.

Membership of the RCC comprises Heads of Government Departments (HoDs) and agencies, municipal and District Chief Executives as well as coordinating directors were expected to be on time for the security briefing.

But several of the MDCEs, HoDs and coordinating directors, as usually, came more than one hour late after dignitaries had already been seated and the Regional Minister on stage delivering his address.

The lateness provoked the Ministers, who shelved his formal written speech and started pouring out his vituperations extemporaneously, saying: “As I stand here, I am very disappointed at the political leaders. “It is really disappointing that we have people who have travelled all the way from Accra to be in midst and yet the people for whom they are invited to come and address are not seated”.

He continued to address virtually an empty conference room at the regional library.

“This is an embarrassment to the entire Region. Particularly I am disappointed in our MDCEs”.

At the time the opening prayer was about to be said, only two of the 11 MDCEs were present and no single Municipal or District Coordinating Director had showed up.

“I am not going to take this issue lightly and I would urge our brothers who have come from the national security to report our appointees, that is their attitudes and I am not taking it lightly at all,” Dr Bin-Salih said. “Our revered chiefs are here already, they were supposed to even come late but they are here before you the political appointees”.

The briefing on violent extremism by national security officials followed reports that a recent clamp down on suspected terrorists bases by the Gendarmerie and coalition forces in Burkina Faso showed some suspects crossed into the country along the Ghana-Burkina Faso borders “possibly to continue their nefarious activities”.

Dr Bin-Salih was attending the RCC meeting for the first time since he assumed office this year as the new Upper West Regional Minister following the reassignment of Alhaji Sulemana Alhassan.