Nakong (UE), April 6, GNA - The Government has been called upon to involve chiefs in the local governance system to make them contribute their rich experiences to the development of communities. The Paramount Chief of Nakong Traditional Area, Pe Joseph Banapeh Afagachie, made the appeal when the Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo visited him at the weekend to formally introduce himself as the Regional Minster and to ask for his support for the administration of the region.

He observed that as chiefs, they were imbued with rich developmental potential and when properly tapped could contribute significantly to the development of the country. He stated that chiefs were the major link to the community and noted that the implementation of government programmes would not be properly executed in communities without the involvement of chiefs. He asked Government to stop paying lip service at involving chiefs in local governance at the municipal and district levels and said they were only invited to ceremonial functions as passive members.

Pe Banapeh appealed to the assemblies in the Region to collaborate with the traditional authorities to formulate environmental by-laws to curb the rampant tree felling, bush burning and other related environmental degradation issues.

The Regional Minister advised the people in Nankong to re-plant trees after felling them and stop destroying the environment. He noted that Government would help provide job opportunities for the communities in the Region by constructing more dams and de-silting other dams to enable people go into farming during the dry season instead of travelling to the southern sector in search of non-existing jobs.

Mr Woyongo said farming would be mechanized and farming inputs subsidized and made easily accessible to farmers. He appealed to the people in the area to remain calm and maintain peace to enable government to execute its good policies and programmes, stressing that without peace no development could take place. The Regional Minister also paid a similar visit to the Chiana Traditional Area also in the Kassena-Nankana West where the people asked for a constituency.