15-member Development Trust for Adansi

Fomena (Ashanti), 3 March '99 -

The Adansi Traditional Council and the Adansi East and West District Assemblies have agreed to set up a 15-member board to manage their one billion cedi shares in the Ashanti Goldfields Company (AGC). The board, to be known as the Adansiman Development Trust,will among other functions, control and administer all dividends accruing from the shares for the benefit of the traditional area. At an extraordinary meeting at Fomena yesterday to discuss membership and representation on the Trust, the two assemblies suggested that the traditional council should appoint seven members while the assemblies present eight members. Led by the Adansihene, Nana Ofori Agyemang the second, the council argued that as custodians of the land who are accountable to the people in respect of land use, they should be given eight seats on the Trust. Tey also suggested that the Adansi Korye Kuo should be represented on the Trust to make it broad-based. The Council asked the District Chief Executives for Adansi East and Adansi West, Mr Owusu Sekyere Agyeman and Mr George Adu-Mensah respectively, to accept its proposal in good faith. Mrs Theresa Joyce Baffoe, Member of Parliament for New Edubiase, appealed to the traditional council and the assemblies to nominate women to serve on the Trust, stressing that "women cannot be left out in the composition of the administrative team of the Adansiman Development Trust". The meeting requested the two District Chief Executives to report back at another date for the reaction of the two assemblies on the composition of the of the trust.