Vice President calls on Guans to strengthen chieftaincy institution

Vice President Dr. John Dramani Mahama has called on chiefs in the Guan speaking communities to strengthen their local arbitration system to provide a suitable alternative for amicable settlement of disputes.

He said the strengthening of the system would also prevent the people from engaging in prolonged courts which tend to create divisive tendencies among them.

Vice President Mahama made this call when he addressed the 7th annual congress of the Guan people at Kete-Krachi in the Northern Region.

The Guan congress which had “Peace, Unity and Development,” as its theme, came about as a result of spontaneous reaction to various research papers on the Guan people by eminent historians and archaeologists from the University of Ghana, attracted patrons from all the Guan speaking communities of Gonja, Larteh, Okere, Boso/Anum, Awutu, Nchumburu, Krachi, Nkonya among others.

The Congress also gave them the opportunity to appraise their performance in the past and forge ahead for future development and growth of the Guan speaking people.

Vice President Mahama said the chieftaincy institution was highly respected in society and it was therefore expedient for them to maintain that status for the adjudication of cases that were hitherto sent to state courts for settlement.

He gave the assurance that government would provide a conducive environment for the political parties to undertake peaceful campaigns, and appealed to supporters of various political parties to reciprocate that gesture by resisting politics of insults.

He promised that government would carry out feasibility studies to ensure that irrigational facilities were provided for the people to engage in farming activities at the Volta Lake at Kete-Krachi .

Nana Mprah Besemuna III, Krachiwura and President of the Krachi Traditional Council, called for a more professional Guan structure and organization, to build the congress with a vibrant secretariat that could give them a brighter future.

He said the Guan congress was a big enterprise that could bring formidable intellectual resources to make powerful contributions for development.

Nana Besemuna commended government for extending the Savannah Accelerated Development projects to northern Volta and called on government to make funds available for the smooth progress of the project.**