President John Dramani Mahama has promised GH¢1 billion for the Bawku Revitalisation Fund to support the recovery and redevelopment of the area, while commending traditional leaders, security agencies and residents for helping to restore peace.

Speaking during the Citizens Engagement with the President in Navrongo on Friday, August 14, Mahama said Bawku was finally experiencing calm, with gunfire having ceased and residents gradually returning to their normal activities.

“Bawku is finally calm. The guns have stopped sounding and people are beginning to go about their business,” he said.

The President commended the traditional rulers and people of Bawku for the progress made in restoring peace, expressing hope that the calm would be sustained.

“I want to commend the traditional rulers and the people of Bawku,” President Mahama said, adding that the return of peace would enable the town to regain its status as a major commercial centre.

He noted that the prolonged conflict had disrupted essential services and forced professionals, including teachers and health workers, to leave the area.

“Last year we couldn’t post national service people to Bawku because of the fighting. We couldn’t post doctors to Bawku because of the fighting,” he said.

President Mahama said the restoration of peace would create an environment for residents and professionals who had left to return and support the rebuilding of the area.

As part of the government’s response, he announced a GH¢1 billion Bawku Revitalisation Fund to support key infrastructure and development projects.

“In the meantime, I promise one billion cedis for the Bawku Revitalisation Fund,” the President announced.

He said a committee to oversee the fund would be inaugurated, although some development projects had already commenced.

“Even before we have inaugurated the committee, some work has started on Bawku town roads, on some health facilities and others,” he said.

According to the President, the bulk of the fund will be directed towards the health and road sectors, which he described as critical to the revitalisation of the area.

“We are devoting the bulk of the money to the health sector and the road sector,” he said.

The government, he added, will improve roads and bridges in Bawku to facilitate the movement of traders and farmers and support the revival of economic activity.

“We want to improve the road network, the bridges in the Bawku area, so that traders and other farmers can move their goods and services easily,” President Mahama said.

On healthcare, he disclosed that the government would complete one of the Agenda 111 hospitals in the area and construct a new hospital in Bawku.

President Mahama expressed confidence that the combination of sustained peace and targeted investment in infrastructure and public services would help Bawku recover from the effects of the conflict and reclaim its position as a major commercial centre.

He urged all stakeholders to protect the prevailing peace, stressing that sustained stability would be essential to the successful implementation of the government’s revitalisation programme.