“It would be difficult to get all cattle removed from Agogo”, says Ashanti Regional Minister

Demands of residents of Agogo to see all cattle removed from the area may not happen anytime soon due to the complex nature of their demands.

Ashanti Regional Minister, John Alexander Ackon says it would be difficult to get all cattle removed from Agogo due to the complex nature of the issue.

Mr. Ackon who has been reacting to demands of residents for all cattle to be removed from the area will not give timelines for the pushing of cattle out of Agogo.

Rather he wants communities who have over the years lived with the herdsmen to understand the complexity of the issue.

He spoke to journalists at the sidelines of a meeting to resolve a feud between settler herdsmen and the Konkombas which has led to the death recently of two people in the Sekyere Afram Plains District.

“When you have cattle who are in the bushes, you chase, you go, you rest for one hour; they can return. So the dealing is not like normal everyday bread and butter you finish and go away. No! At times you go and patrol the area you wouldn’t meet anybody; in the night you come and see destruction. So the handling is a bit different from what you normally think it should be and that’s the complexities and that’s why we think that communities should understand because they’ve been with them “nomadic herdsmen” for so long” Mr. Ackon said.

Residents of Agogo, led by the Member of Parliament for the area, Kwadwo Baah Agyemang during a demonstration on Tuesday accused government of doing little to help deal with the nomadic herdsmen issue which has claimed lives and injured many residents.

The accusations come as a March-ultimatum jointly issued by traditional authorities and Agogo Youth Association to all cattle owners to remove their cattle expired on March 31, 2016.

But Mr. Ackon who wants residents to exercise patience has called for collaboration between the Regional Security Council and affected communities.

“We need to understand ourselves and get the issues that are confronting us so that we will be seen to be working as one unit.

"I cannot give timelines for pushing cattle because there are Ghanaians who have cattle. We don’t behave as if Ghanaians don’t need the cattle and if you give the timeline and say you are pushing and the Ghanaians go and buy two cattle, what are you going to do with them? So it’s difficult to get to that point and say you are going to push every cattle out of the area but I think because of the destruction, we have to act in a manner that will give peace to the community”.

According to him, REGSEC meeting on Friday will discuss the nomadic herdsmen issue in an attempt to find a lasting solution to the menace.