More Chieftaincy cases pending before Regional House of Chiefs

Sunyani (B/A) Feb 12 GNA- Nana Kwadwo Nyarko III, President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs disclosed in Sunyani on Thursday that 45 chieftaincy cases were pending before the House.

He said they comprised petitions filed at the House and appeals from some traditional councils.

Addressing the first general meeting of the House for the year, Nana Nyarko said the figure indicated that the number of cases had not reduced.

Nana Nyarko, who is Omanhene of Prang Traditional Area, noted that poor conditions of service had frustrated the House's efforts to recruit counsel.

He urged chiefs in the region to give their maximum support to ensure the success of the forthcoming revision of voters' register exercise.

We can best do this by sensitizing our subjects through meetings in their localities to enable them to know the significance of the exercise, the Omanhene added.

Nana Nyarko announced that the Chieftaincy Research Team at the Chieftaincy Secretariat in Accra had since December 2003 completed research work on the codification of the principles and procedures regarding the enstoolment and destoolment of chiefs and queen-mothers. He said the team would return in due course to the traditional councils concerned to enable them to go through the report and effect any corrections, if necessary.

The Omanhene told the House that despite persistent reminders by the Regional Registrar, the District Directors of National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) who conducted research work on behalf of the House in Jaman and Asutifi districts were yet to submit their reports to the regional secretariat for onward submission to Accra.

He said the Regional Secretariat had given the two district directors up to next Monday, February 16, to submit their reports since any further delay would exclude the affected traditional councils from the exercise and this might adversely affect the two councils.

On behalf of the House, Nana Nyarko thanked Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF), the District Chief Executives as well as the District Directors of NCCE in the region for their co-operation and support, which made the research work possible.

"It is anticipated that the Chieftaincy Research Project, if properly accomplished, would help in reducing chieftaincy disputes in the region", he said.

On the December general election, Nana Nyarko emphasized the crucial role of chiefs in the exercise to help sustain the nation's young democracy.

He advised them to educate and advise their subjects to be law-abiding and tolerant during the electioneering campaigns, irrespective of political party affiliation, to forestall any breach of the peace.

The chiefs must do well to assist fire prevention agencies in their educational campaigns and take proactive measures towards the creation of fire belts and the training of fire volunteers to prevent bush fires. Nana Nyarko urged chiefs in the region to join forces with health personnel to control the spread of HIV/AIDS through intensive educational campaigns in their traditional areas.

The Deputy Regional Minister Mr Adjei Duffour said the proposed National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) should be considered as "our insurance against unnecessary and preventable deaths".

The scheme will also ensure that our wives, mothers and sisters would no longer be detained in hospitals and clinics because of non-payment for services rendered to them by health agencies, since all would be catered for by the scheme.

Mr Adjei-Duffour described as unfortunate and uncalled for, recent events in some parts of the region following the announcement of the creation of new districts and their capitals, saying, the fact that a particular town was not selected as the district capital did not mean development would not be extended to that area.

He urged chiefs in areas where new district capitals had been sited to identify and release land for the construction of offices and residential accommodation and others that would make the Assemblies functional.

Mr. Adjei-Duffour appealed to them to complement the efforts of the Regional Co-Coordinating Council in stemming bush fires.