There is heavy police presence at the Tamale Teachers Hall, the venue for the maiden Town Hall Meeting slated for Wednesday. Roads leading to the venue and its immediate environs are filled with security forces to quell possible confrontation, and ensure a peaceful meeting where the people within the locality are supposed to meet collectively to discuss matters concerning their towns and districts, and work with government representatives at that level to plan budgets and allocate resources. Joy News Mahama Shaibu counted not less than 100 police personnel patrolling the venue. “The police are actually prepared” to contain any eventuality, he said. The heavy security presence has been attributed to earlier concerns raised by a section of the citizen, mostly members of the opposition New Patriotic Party, who feared being attacked by their perceived political opponent from the ruling National Democratic Congress. The agitated group has been assured of adequate security by the government and the northern regional police command. Meanwhile, information reaching Myjoyonline.com says the meeting suffered a late start as the representative of the regent of Dagbon staged a walkout because a chief, whose status is lower than his, sat at the high table while he was made to sit among the general public. It took the intervention of the regional minister and other officials to convince him to return to the hall for the programme to start. The Town Hall Meeting is aimed at deepening local participation in governance. Story by Isaac Essel Myjoyonline.com