Ahafo: Some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) reportedly clashed with the leadership of the Minority Caucus in the Ahafo Ano North District of the Ashanti Region over a planned engagement with cocoa farmers.
According to Ghana Web, the incident occurred on March 17 after the Minority had gone to the area to meet with farmers. The engagement, led by Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh and other New Patriotic Party (NPP) Members of Parliament, formed part of a broader regional outreach to assess the impact of the recent price reduction on cocoa farmers.
Tensions arose when local NDC officials scheduled a parallel meeting with the same group of farmers at the durbar grounds at Bonkrom, creating a clash over venue and timing. Security personnel, including police and immigration officers, intervened to prevent escalation, stopping the NDC group from using the premises and maintaining order throughout the programme.
The Chief of Bonkrom, Nana Kwadwo Nsiah I, explained that the durbar grounds had already been booked for the Minority's engagement two weeks prior, and his office had not been informed about any competing event by the NDC. He stressed that while the community remains open to all political parties, organisers must follow laid-down procedures to avoid conflict.
'Today's incident was unacceptable. As community leaders, my elders and I are not opposed to any party, including the NDC. If you wish to organise an event, please approach us to discuss and schedule it properly. It's essential to keep us informed before proceeding with any programme,' he said.
Some cocoa farmers expressed concern over what they described as an attempt to disrupt their engagement with the MPs. One farmer, Yaw Ofori, said the meeting was initially planned for Akwasiase but had to be relocated to Bonkrom due to fears of disruption. 'Our MP initially told us that we would be meeting the NPP MPs at Akwasiase. However, we received information that supporters of the NDC were planning to disrupt the meeting, so we decided to change the venue to Bonkrom. Despite this change, they still tried to cause chaos and almost disrupted the programme,' he said.
Another farmer, Dapaah Eric, noted that although the Minority had secured the venue in advance, some NDC members still attempted to use the same location and later considered holding their event nearby.