President John Atta Mills has reiterated his commitment towards improving the lives of Ghanaians. Addressing the chiefs and people of the Upper East Region on the first day of his week-long tour of the Northern and Upper regions, the president said he was impressed with the quantum of work done so far to improve the lot of the people and assured of sustained development projects. “We have been voted into power because our people expect development; they expect progress; they expect improvement in their conditions of life. What we have done is not the end; it’s only the beginning,” he said. He was confident that God in his providence will retain the NDC in power to continue the good works it has started. “I know that God will give us the opportunity. If at the end of the four years we haven’t finished, I assure you God will give us eight years to complete it and even more years when He realizes that we have not finished our assignment,” he said. The President also took the opportunity to appeal to Mamprusis to return to the Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee for a peaceful resolution of the protracted conflict between the Mamprusis and the Kusasis. The Mamprusis walked out on the committee when national security prevented them from celebrating the Damba Festival. They have since accused the government of bias. But President Mills urged the Mamprusis to reconsider their decision and return to the peace talks for the sake of peace and unity. He advised the feuding factions to seek to build bridges and not to take entrenched positions in the supreme interest of the country. “We must realize that this is the only country that we have. Without peace there can be no progress and when we take positions which create disunity let us remember, especially, the young men and women whose future we are toying with. We are building Ghana for generations which are yet to come. We must lay a solid foundation.” He said Ghanaians must take wise counsel from what is happening in other countries. The spokesperson of the Mamprusi ethnic group told Joy News they would only return to the peace committee if the Mamprusis were made to celebrate the Damba festival. Amande Haleri accused the government of backing the Kusasis, claiming, the Mamprusis were being discriminated against because of their perceived affiliation with the NPP. He said the unlawful arrest and detention of the Mamprusis ought to cease if the government indeed wanted to resolve the crisis. Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana