CHIEF OF STAFF: Abibata Shanni Zacharia’s awful, loutish decision to close down Bawku MASLOC operations will be reversed with gunfire and blood

I am a whistle blower with a known face and address. I wish to bring to the attention of the Chief of Staff that Abibata Shanni Zacharia’s decision to close down Bawku MASLOC operations will be responded to and reversed with gunfire and blood!

Mark my words!

Before the current Bawku conflict broke out in November/December, 2021, the Microfinance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC) had granted a total of Ghc1,282,800.00 to 54 persons/entities in the Bawku general area.The total amount recovered was Ghc104,595.00.

Did Abibata Shanni Zacharia decide to close down Bawku MASLOC operations because of a force majeur that impacted recovery of a balance of Ghc1,178,205.00?

May the Chief of Staff note that Abibata Shanni Zacharia is doing an act in Bawku that will have serious consequences!

May I remind the Chief of Staff that terrorist armed groups thrive on instability, poor governance and local resentment of government.

May I remind those who do not live with us in Bawku that Burkina Faso terrorists are breathing down our necks some ten (10) to fifteen (15) km from the Ghana border.

On 6th of August, 2023, some Ghanaian traders had a harrowing experience with jihadists on the Bittou (Burkina Faso) to Cinkase (Togo) highway. The jihadists killed some twenty-five (25) Burkinabe/Togolese traders on a Cinkase market day – at a forest stretch near Nahao, a small town in the Bittou Department of the Boulgou Province in South Eastern Burkina Faso, which is closer to the Ghana border.

According to the Ghanaian traders, their lives were spared when they established their identities with their Ghana Cards!

There are reasons – known to Ghana’s Security Agents – for the Jihadists not killing the Ghanaian traders, or for not yet attacking Ghanaian territory. It is common knowledge among locals in border and near border communities that some jihadists enter Ghana because they consider the country as a place for rest and victuals (food or provisions), and also as a safe haven for their family members who have been dislodged from Burkina Faso by intensive Burkina Military bombardment of jihadists’ strongholds.

The Government of Ghana spends ten (10) million cedis every month on the Security Agents to restore law, order and peace in the Bawku general area. It is locals’ expectation that State Agencies like MASLOC and LEAP will complement the Security Agencies’ efforts with innovative incentives and packages to get the local economy running and also to alleviate poverty and suffering of the citizens.

Surprisingly, MASLOC has pulled out of Bawku and left resilient, hardworking, long suffering women to suffer the collateral damage of the Bawku conflict.

Bawku market women, shopkeepers, farmers, cooked food sellers, tricycle operators, commercial drivers, bankers, teachers, hospital staff, drinking/chopbar operators, etc., continue to keep the local economy running.

The citizens of Bawku require help, attention, encouragement from State Agencies, local and international NGOs.

What the citizens of Bawku find intolerable is the behaviour of the likes of Abibata Shanni Zacharia of MASLOC who think they can abandon Bawku.

I repeat: Abibata Shanni Zacharia’s awful, loutish decision to close down Bawku MASLOC operations will be responded to and reversed with gunfire and blood.

I shall return!

Owula Mangortey
16th August, 2023