Public sector workers in the troubled Bawku area are to be exempt from the ban imposed on the use of motor bikes in the area. The ban is part of measures adopted by the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to curb the upsurge in violent killings in the town and took effect from Thursday, April 8, 2010. But it will not apply to public sector workers and other essential service providers such as teachers, nurses, electricity providers and police officers, Upper East Regional Minister Mark Woyongo has said. Many residents of Bawku have condemned the measure, saying it will cripple businesses and access to essential services such health care. They argue the measure was not only harsh but also incapable of achieving the desired goal of curtailing violence and securing life and property. For opponents of the ban, the argument that motor bikes facilitated the activities of dissidents who shoot and kill with guns and escape is untenable. They say with the ban, trouble makers can still carry their gun and perpetrate crime on foot. Calling for a review of the measure, they say the authorities should rather explore pragmatic ways of resolving the conflict. Mr Woyongo told Joy News the ban on motor bikes was a necessary evil. Explaining how its impact of the ban will be minimized, the Regional Minister said plans were underway to give residents who qualify to be exempt, identity cards which will licence them to use motor bikes. He said a communication centre will be set up to link up with people needing medical care, and ambulances provided to convey them to the hospital. Story by Malik Abass Daabu/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana