“I was saddened by the incident. It hurt me that such an act should occur under my presidency. I have come to appeal to you that such a thing should never occur in Denkyira Obuasi, let alone in any part of our country. Let it be the last time that we see such an event in our country.”
These were the words of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, on Monday, 7th August, 2017, when he made a brief stopover at Denkyira Obuasi, en route to Wassa Akropong, on day 1 of his 3-day tour of the Western Region.
Whilst expressing his strongest condemnation of the actions leading to the death of Major Mahama, President Akufo-Addo noted, however, that “the pain I brought from Accra has been lifted because of what the Omanhene has said today.
“The Omanhene has acknowledged that what happened was not right and should never have happened. I will plead with all Ghanaians to learn a lesson from this sad incident. The Police, Judiciary and lawyers are the ones charged with the prosecution of crime. We should, therefore, not take the law into our own hands”.
President Akufo-Addo stressed that all the advanced and emerging market economies of this world have made progress because of the respect for the rule of law.
“Ghana is the beacon of democracy in Africa. We are firm believers in the principles of democratic accountability and in the rule of law. We have demonstrated that democracy is the surest path towards the improvement of the living conditions of our people,” he added.
Nonetheless, the President of the Republic has assured residents of Denkyira Obuasi that his government will not abandon them, but will ensure that they get their fair share of the development due them.
With the persons allegedly responsible for the death of Major Maxwell Mahama facing court action, President Akufo-Addo noted that the rest of the townsfolk should not be stigmatised and bear the brunt of the actions of the few.
“You are a part of Ghana. I have come to assure you that despite what has happened, my government will not abandon you. Whatever policies we have put in place to improve the living conditions of Ghanaians such as the Free SHS policy, the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs, 1-District-1-Factory, Denkyira Obuasi, now New Obuasi, according to the Omanhene, will be a part of it,” the President said.
On the requests made by the Krontihene Odiamono Twum Barimah II, the Chief of Denkyira Obuasi, President Akufo-Addo noted that the poor nature of the town roads would be addressed soon.
Addressing the appeals by the people for the restoration of their District Chief Executive, President Akufo-Addo assured the gathering that a decision on the status of Mr. Appianin will be made soon.
Prior to his arrival in Denkyira Obuasi, President Akufo-Addo was at Dansokrom, in Sefwi Wiawso, for the re-launch of the Cocoa Diseases and Pest Control Programme (CODAPEC).
The programme, otherwise known as “Cocoa Mass Spraying Programme”, was established under the Kufuor government to assist all cocoa farmers in the country to combat capsid and the black pod disease. The programme was also to train farmers and technical personnel on the methods of pest and disease control.
Indeed, the attainment of more than 1 million tonnes of cocoa output in the 2010/2011 crop season was a direct result of the Cocoa Mass Spraying exercise.
It is for this reason that the Akufo-Addo government has resolved to make it functional again and to help improve the yield per hectare for all farmers across the country. Government has also decided to assist farmers to be able to spray their farms twice a year with help from the private sector.
President Akufo-Addo ended Day 1 of his tour of the Western Region with a visit to Wassa Akropong, where he interacted with the Chiefs and people, and reiterated his commitment towards creation of the Western-North Region.
