The Metropolitan Archbishop of Tamale, Most Reverend Philip Naameh,
has called for the creation of two more regions out of the Northern
Region, considering the vast nature of the region.
He argued that, splitting the Northern Region could help resolve the
chieftaincy, land and other related conflicts recorded in the area.
“Fundamentally,
these conflicts are about a great pressure put on increasingly scarce
resources. Whether it’s a question of land where we have a population
explosion in that area, you have various ethnic groups having to compete
for this very limited land which brings about conflict,” he lamented.
He was addressing the opening session of this year’s Ghana Catholic
Bishops Conference held in Tamale, which brought together all Bishops
and Archbishops of the Roman Catholic Church in Ghana.
This year’s Catholic Bishops Conference was under the theme,
“Reconciliation with God, humanity and nature in the year of mercy.”
Topmost on the agenda of the week-long event, is the need to ensure a
peaceful presidential and parliamentary elections on December 7.
Most Reverend Philip Naameh explained his standpoint on the need to split the Northern Region into three.
“This is going to ensure the equitable distribution of resources
towards addressing poverty, illiteracy and other developmental
challenges that are contributing to prolonged conflicts in the region.”
As the Chairman of the Northern Regional Peace Council, he said the
endless conflicts have ruined the region’s development agenda.
“Sustained violence and conflicts in the Northern Region have
resulted in the lost of human capital as well as the destruction of
socio-economic infrastructure including schools and clinics,
significantly halting and even reversing the development process in the
area”.
Most Reverend Philip Naameh downplayed successive government’s
commitment to resolving such conflicts and called for a paradigm shift.
“Very often, it is very limited to just fire-fire fighting. There is a
conflict, government sends soldiers to go and scare people to run away
and hide. But those value systems which make them, the parties involved
feel excluded and still the conflict persists.”
The Regent of Dagbon, Kampakuya-Naa Abdulai Andani, in a speech read
on his behalf urged Dagombas to intensify their peaceful co-existence.
“Dagbon needs peace and reconciliation more than anyone else, and I pray that God grants us the courage to seek reconciliation.”
He urged the Clergy to pray for peaceful elections on December 7, and
further commended the Roman Catholic Church for the enormous
developmental projects executed across the country particularly in
Yendi.
The outgoing President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference, who
doubles as the Bishop of the Mampong Diocese, Most Rev. Joseph
Osei-Bonsu, admonished Ghanaians to remain law abiding citizens before,
during and after the December 7 polls.
He condemned practices such as deforestation, illegal mining,
bush-fires and water pollution that contribute to the destruction of the
country’s vegetative cover.
The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference is an integral part of the
Catholic faith enshrined in the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church,
which applies to all Catholic Churches of the Roman Rite throughout the
world.
According to the Canon Law of the Catholic Church (Canon 447-459),
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference is the central decision making body of
the Catholic Church in Ghana.
It creates a platform for Bishops and Archbishops of the Catholic
Church in Ghana to offer practicable solutions to issues of national
concern.