President John Dramani Mahama has expressed the hope that Bawku will regain its status as a major commercial hub if the current peace in the area is sustained.

Speaking in Bolgatanga during a citizen engagement as part of his Resetting Ghana Agenda tour of the Upper East Region, the President said the cessation of gunfire and the return of relative calm had created an opportunity for residents and businesses that fled the area because of the conflict to return and rebuild their lives.

President Mahama commended the traditional rulers and people of Bawku for contributing to the prevailing peace, noting that the town was “finally calm” and people were beginning to go about their normal activities.

“I believe that if this peace continues, Bawku will bounce back to its original glory as a major commercial area of our country,” he said.

The President observed that the prolonged conflict had disrupted essential services in Bawku, resulting in the departure of teachers, health professionals, and other workers.

He said the situation had become so challenging that, in the previous year, the government could not post national service personnel or medical doctors to Bawku because of the fighting.

President Mahama said the restoration of peace would, therefore, be critical to rebuilding confidence and attracting professionals and businesses back to the area.

Following the conclusion, findings, and recommendations of the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II’s mediation process on the protracted Bawku conflict in December 2025, the government announced the establishment of a GH¢1 billion Revitalisation Fund as part of efforts to restore Bawku.

The Fund, to be managed by a committee comprising Dr Cassiel Ato Forson, the Minister of Finance; the Regional Minister; and Mr Mahama Ayariga, the outgoing Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, now Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, who represents the MPs in the Bawku enclave, will be spent over a three-year period from 2026 to 2028.

President Mahama said he would inaugurate the committee during the week to kick-start the implementation of the Fund.

He said work had already begun on some roads and health facilities in Bawku, even before the inauguration of the committee.

According to him, a significant portion of the Fund would be invested in the health and road sectors to improve infrastructure and facilitate the movement of traders and farmers and their goods.

“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. And then also improve healthcare in the area,” he said.

President Mahama further announced plans to complete one of the Agenda 111 hospitals in the area and construct a new hospital in Bawku to strengthen healthcare delivery.

He said the government’s broader revitalisation efforts, coupled with sustained peace, would help restore Bawku’s economic activity and enable the municipality to reclaim its position as an important commercial centre in Ghana.