By Mohamed T Massaquoi
Residents of the Galliness Perri chiefdom in the southern district headquarter town of Pujehun have expressed dissatisfaction over the manner in which stray cattle continue to destroy their crops.
The aggrieved residents, most of them farmers, said the animals had not only destroyed their crops but had also attacked women. They said they had made several complaints to the chiefdom authorities but that nothing had been done so far to address the situation.
This is not the first time residents in that part of the country had faced such a situation. In 2015 the Pujehun district security coordination team declared war on stray cattle but little was achieved with their intervention.
Saidu Massaquoi, a farmer at Kpasambo Village, close to where the cattle were being reared, said the animals had destroyed his upland rice farm of about seven bushels. This, he said, had affected his family because farming was his only source of income.
“This is real punishment for us in this chiefdom and if it continues like this it will lead to chaos in this chiefdom,” Massaquoi lamented and called on the district authorities to immediately address the issue.
Kadietu Mansaray, another victim, said the animals had been a threat to their livelihoods for a long time. She said her cassava farm had been a constant target by the animals.
“These animals are a threat to us and our little children and this is because they are not under control,” she said, adding that even their houses were not speared.
Some commercial bike riders in the chiefdom have also complained of attacks from the cattle, whose actions they said had caused some road accidents.
Alhaji Issa Baimba, Paramount Chief of Galliness Perri Chiefdom,said the issue of cattle destroying their crops had been a real challenge for the chiefdom authorities. He said the animals had caused a lot of damage on the livelihoods of his people.
He promised that they were going to set up a committee to dialogue with both the cattle owners and the community people to avoid chaos in the chiefdom.
“The act of these animals is unacceptable. It is not good and I don’t like it. Therefore, I am going to find a possible solution to it with immediate effect,” Chief Baimba said, lamenting however that he had not been able to contact the cattle owners. He however promised to continue with his planned dialogue.
(C) Politico 22/03/16
