Local Government Minister has charged party footsoldiers to give District and Municipal Chief Executives the peace of mind to execute their developmental agenda. Samuel Ofosu Ampofo said the recent phenomenon of footsoldier agitations will not be allowed to fester under his watch. His admonition follows bout of rampaging footsoldier activities in which offices of some state institutions have been forcibly taken over and public toilets seized with impunity across the country. Some of the footsoldiers in Tamale last year burnt tender documents belonging to the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly and also succeeded in seizing auction cars belonging to the Tamale Hospital early this year. Some of the footsoldiers have in some cases succeeded in getting the president to dismiss the DCEs for many undisclosed reasons. In an interview with Joy News’ Seth Kwame Boateng the Local Government Minister promised an end to the phenomenon. “If everybody wants the MDCEs to be removed, that is not the solution to the problem. The solution is to do more engagement to let them know we are doing,” he said. He asked that the footsoldiers must be patient and give the DCEs more time to do their work. According to the sector minister, some of the agitations may not necessarily be because the DCEs have been inefficient; rather they have not communicated their achievements to the people. He advised that the DCEs create Public Relation outfits and make use of the local radio stations to trumpet the achievements they have undertaken. He dismissed the allegations by the footsoldiers that there are no jobs. “We keep on creating opportunities; we keep on creating jobs; jobs are being created under the NYEP programme, jobs are being created through direct investments by the various MDCEs.. and we will continue to create jobs for our people through several interventions by government,” he said. “I believe what we need to tell our people DCEs must be given some peace of mind because you need a certain length of time to get your programme crystallized,” he said. Play the attached audio for excerpts of the interview Story by Nathan Gadugah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana