We Won't Allow Chieftaincy Disputes To Hamper Economic Development -Yankah

Cape Coast, .(Central Region) 10 Oct. The government does not intend to interfere in chieftaincy matters but it will intervene when chieftaincy disputes threaten the peace, unity and the socio-economic development of the country. The Central Regional Minister, Mr Kojo Yankah, said this in Cape Coast yesterday when he announced a freeze on the sale of stool lands at Gomoa Feteh. The freeze is to help stem a chieftaincy dispute which is threatening security and investment in the Gomoa district. The dispute started about three years ago when one of the two ruling houses of the ''Twidan'' royal family of Feteh sought to replace the present Odikro, Nana Abor Wuesie XIX claiming that he is blind and an ex- convict. The faction said the chief had also failed to account for the sale of stool lands. Mr Yankah announced the freeze when members of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) met members of the two ruling houses. He told them that government was determined to ensure a peaceful and conducive atmosphere that would promote investment. The REGSEC is concerned about the fact that the dispute was hindering investment and the exploitation of gold deposits in the area. He called on the two houses to help ensure that law and order prevailed. Mr Yankah told them that the freeze would remain in force until the hearing of an appeal against the enstoolment of a new odikro as well as the resolution of other cases pending before the courts as a result of the dispute. Mr Yankah advised those who want to invest or develop land in the disputed area to contact the Regional Coordinating Council. He also announced a temporary ban on sand wining at Gomoa Buduburam, saying that REGSEC is concerned about the abuse of permits issued for sand wining there. The ban, he said, will remain in place pending consultations with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the issue. The two ruling houses led by their respective heads of family, who had earlier narrated their versions leading to the dispute, greeted each other to signify that they had made peace. The Gomoa District Chief Executive, Mr Kow Ayanful, reiterated the need for them to bury their differences.