'Chieftaincy disputes must be settled by chiefs themselves'

By: Samuel Agbewode, Kete-Krachi
The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, has expressed concern over chieftaincy disputes in the country, and called on chiefs to come out with mechanisms that would help ensure that such disputes are amicably settled, rather than taking such cases to the law courts.

Mr. Mahama regretted over attempts by some rich people in society to become chiefs at all cost, when they do not have the qualification. According to him, this behaviour was a great worry to the government, since it always breeds confusion in the country.

The Vice President was addressing the 7 th National Guan Congress, which was themed 'Peace and Unity,' held at Kete-Krachi over the weekend.

John Mahama noted that chieftaincy disputes could be addressed more effectively by the traditional authorities than the law courts. 'The chieftaincy institution is too big for the courts to handle, where one judge sits and pass judgment on chieftaincy cases,' he said.

He assured Ghanaians that the government was on top of issues relating to the maintenance of peace, and that they would not allow a group of people or individuals to engage in violent activities in this year's elections.

According to him, the nation needed total peace and unity that would enable the government to execute its 'Better Ghana' agenda aimed at accelerating infrastructural and other development. He noted that the start of the eastern corridor road through the Volta Region, rehabilitation of the western railway line, and the establishment of a Shea butter processing factory in the north, showed the success of the 'Better Ghana' agenda.

Mr. Mahama used the occasion and appealed to the Guan Congress, to which he belongs, to vote massively in the 2012 general election, in order to retain the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government in power to enable it to accomplish the various development projects started.

'If you have a farm and you do not plant, you cannot harvest unless you plant, and President Mills has been planting for the past years, so if you retain him in power, he would harvest.' he stressed.

Touching on youth growth and development, the Vice President advised them to refrain from negative practices, which were likely to destroy their futures, but rather position themselves and take advantage of the numerous opportunities being created to develop, so as to ensure a brighter future.

The Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Ametefe, who represented the Regional Minister, Mr. Henry Ford Kamel, lauded the activities of the Guan Congress, noting that the people in the Krachi traditional area, under the sound leadership of the 'Krachiwura', had over the years shown the way in the promotion of peace and unity in the region.

Mr. Ametefe noted that the congress would not only promote peace and unity among the people, but also help in mobilising both human and material resources for development, and urged the people to support the government accomplish its development activities, since the government alone cannot meet all their developmental needs.

The Krachiwura, Nana Mprah Besemuna III, appealed to politicians who interfere in chieftaincy issues to put a stop to the practice, because it would not help in bringing peace within the chieftaincy institution, adding that such interferences had created problems for the institution of chieftaincy over the years.

Nana Mprah Besemuna said it was gratifying that the northern part of the Volta Region had been included in the Savanna Accelerated Development Authority (SADA), and stressed that under SADA, serious consideration be given to the Krachi area in terms of irrigation, because of the vast resources of water from the Lake Volta and Oti River.

Krachiwura explained that the farmers could not make any good use of the water bodies in the area to enrich agricultural activities, as they depended on rain.

To him, therefore, when irrigation was introduced in the area, it would go a long way to improve on the socio-economic activities of the people.