The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Amin Amidu Sulemani has stated that peace and unity are the foundations of democracy and development, without which “there is no way we can sustain our democracy and pursue any development agenda’’. Alhaji Amidu Sulemani made the statement at the 55th independence anniversary celebrations at the Naa Sidiki Bomi II Park in Wa. Assistant Superintendent of Police, Edmund Nyamekye conducted a parade made up of a contingent of the security services which include the Ghana Police Service, the Ghana National Fire Service, the Ghana Immigration Service, Customs Exercise and Preventive Service and the Ghana Prisons Service. 16 Primary schools, 16 Junior High Schools, 7 Senior High Schools and 3 special schools and some voluntary organizations took part in the march past. The minister posited the region is relatively peaceful and gave credit to the religious leaders, traditional rulers, the security agencies and the entire people of the region. ‘’We should therefore be proactive to do away with all potential sources of conflict, be it chieftaincy, land, religion, ethnicity and politics. Let’s do away with divisive tendencies and rather concentrate on the challenges of poverty, disease and under development which has placed the region amongst the poorest’’, he added. He passionately appealed to traditional rulers, religious leaders and opinion leaders to renew their efforts to resolve all of such differences that have the potential of conflict.