The Member of Parliament for Wa Central, Abdul-Rashid Pelpuo, has strongly criticized the government for its perceived lack of response to the ongoing killings in Wa, the capital of the Upper West Region.
Concerns are mounting over a series of violent incidents in Wa and neighboring communities across the Upper West and Upper East Regions of Ghana.
In an interview on the Citi Breakfast Show on July 18, Pelpuo expressed his disappointment with the government’s handling of the situation, highlighting the absence of concrete assurances or statements from both the Minister of the Interior and President Akufo-Addo.
Pelpuo lamented the government’s silence on previous incidents of violence, contrasting it with President Akufo-Addo’s tendency to comment on international issues while neglecting pressing domestic concerns.
He criticized the administration for failing to provide an official response or plan to address the escalating violence in the region, leaving communities feeling vulnerable and unsupported.
“I can tell you there are no assurances at all. The then Interior Minister who is also from the region did not give us any concrete assurance, the new Interior Minister has also not given us any assurance, the government has not made any announcement or shown any concern and the president has said nothing.
“It thus seems like an everyday occurrence that happened. This whole thing started from Techiman, moved to Wa, went to Bole, and came back to Wa and no pronouncement has been made as to how we can tackle this situation. It thus looks like, ‘it is your concern handle it’ but the police are around and that is the impression I am getting.
“But there must be a pronouncement by the interior minister right now, and a show of concern by the president and the vice president; none of these has happened. I think that it is the nature of the government we are seeing now.
“Remember the eight people who were killed in Techiman till now no government statement from the presidency. When we had people killed in the Nothern sector, specifically in Wa, I had a complaint that the president did not say anything about it. But you hear him talking about killings in America and Ukraine.”
