Kulungugu (U/E), April 13, GNA - The Bawku East Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr. Abdul-Rahman Gumah, at the weekend appealed to the people of Bawku and its surroundings to guard against provocative utterances that has the potential to spark violence.

"This year is an election year full of political activities and the tendency to provoke emotions and sentiments will be greater than before."

Mr. Gumah made the appeal at Kulungugu in the Bawku East District of the Upper East Region during the national congress of the BISAA Youth Association (BYA), a community of Busangas nationwide. It was on the theme: 'Zekula', which literally means Peace, Unity and Development.

He said some people may deliberately or otherwise provoke other people's emotions by little talks and actions, adding that there is the need for residents in the District to exercise extreme restraint and greater patience to successfully go through the year peacefully.

He called on the BYA to use the congress to prevail on the Busanga community to exercise restraint to ensure that this year's election and subsequent ones are incident free, " we have a history to guide us and we will not want to see a repetition of what happened in 2000 after the general election. We can only avoid this by conducting our political activities in a more civilized manner", he added.

Mr. Gumah announced that April 29, is scheduled for the launch of the District Health Insurance scheme which, he said, would replace the 'Cash and Carry system, saying it is to make health delivery accessible and affordable especially to the poor and vulnerable.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mahami Salifu, who was the guest of honour, noted that the Bawku area is bedevilled with chieftaincy and ethnic conflicts to the detriment of development and said such conflicts necessitate the diversion of huge resources meant for the development of the area to conflict management.

He called on the people to put their ethnic and self-interests at the background and partner other communities in the district to make ensure that the new district and constituency takes off smoothly. "No particular group of people should see themselves as an island, but as a sea of different ... groupings desirous to co-exist for the betterment of all", he added.

He urged the congress to make the issue of education key on their agenda during deliberations and said education opens unlimited opportunities to people who avail themselves of it, adding that with the increasing deteriorating farmlands, the only good opportunity left is to create an enabling environment for education.

He said government is determined to improve on the tourism potentials of the district to make tourism more attractive and viable. To this end, he added a receptive centre at Naa Gbewaa shrine was being constructed at the cost of about 450 million cedis from the HIPC proceeds.

The National Chairman of BYA, Connell, Adbulai Inusah, in a welcoming address indicated that the congress was meant to bring the people of Busanga origin together to share ideas about the development of the area and said it is further to reaffirm the peaceful nature of Bisas.

He said the congress further aimed at developing the progressive traditions and practices of the people as well as expose the youth to the basic their basic traditions and culture.