Accra, Jan. 31,- Mr Kwame
Asafu-Adjei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Nsuta-Kwamang-Beposo has called on
government to put in place measures to deal decisively with the problem of
alien nomadic herdsmen once and for all.
According to him, many Ghanaians
are concerned about the increasing reports of the gross misconduct of some of
the nomadic herdsmen in the country.
Mr Asafu-Adjei made the call in a
statement on the floor of Parliament, on the movement of Fulani Herdsmen from
Agogo to the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti region.
In recent times, the problem of
Fulani Herdsmen had become critical following the shooting of three military
personnel and a Policeman, who sustained serious injuries at Agogo on Monday,
January 8, 2018 as well as the killing of two Police personnel at the Sekyere
Afram Plains District on Thursday 11, 2018.
Two farmers from Jeduako near
Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District of the Ashanti Region were on Wednesday
24, January, 2018 shot dead by suspected nomadic herdsmen.
The two are 60-year-old Kofi
Owusu and 75-year-old Kwaku Anniboye, who were among a group of residents bent
on chasing out the nomadic herdsmen from the town.
The residents angered by the
growing number of herdsmen fleeing from Agogo and taking refuge in the area,
armed themselves with machetes and clubs on a mission to attack and chase them
out.
Mr Asafu-Adjei also expressed
concern about herdsmen, who were allowed to enter and live in Ghana at will,
allegedly in the name of ECOWAS protocols on free movement of peoples, goods
and livestock as “worrying”.
He said though the negative
impact of local herds may appear small, the influx of nomadic livestock may
predispose the country to drastic overgrazing and damage to soil that would be
difficult to reverse.
He said another negative effect
of these nomadic cattle is that they constitute a potential means of
introducing certain disease pathogens into livestock in Ghana.
Mr Asafu-Adjei also stated that
the Fulani menace in the country poses a threat to agriculture, food security
and national security since many farmers are unable to go to their farms and
traders cannot bring the foodstuffs to the market.
He therefore charged the
government to not only flush out the nomadic herdsmen, but that the security
agencies should confiscate their illegal weapons and escort them out of the
borders of the country.
He said in a long-term strategy
the government can provide identification for the herdsman with their country
of origin, by painting their cattle with the country’s colour.
He said the specific location
within the district should be allotted to their cattle for grazing as well as
tagging the cattle of these herdsmen.
Alhaji Mohammed Muntaka-Mubarak,
the Minority Chief Whip called on the public not to lump all the herdsmen as
Fulani since the nomadic herdsmen are from different countries.
He said herdsmen, who commit
crime should be charged and taken through the judicial process rather than
being attacked by a mob.
GNA
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