Lawra, Oct. 10, GNA - The greatness of chiefs and other traditional leaders in modern times should not be measured by the number of tribal wars that they have fought and won but by development projects they have supported and completed.

President John Evans Atta Mills, who made the call, asked chiefs to help improve the living standards of their people. These were contained in a speech read on behalf of the President by Mr. Alex Asum-Ahensah, Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, at this year's "Kob-Bine" Festival of the chiefs and people of Lawra Traditional Area, at Lawra in the Upper West Region on Friday.

President Mills said that the chieftaincy institution had undisputedly contributed immensely towards the stability and development of the nation. He explained that Ghana was one of the countries in West Africa with so many different ethnic groupings yet the people co-existed peacefully and contributed significantly towards the development of their communities. President Mills said "The credit for this beautiful scenario can conveniently be attributed to the able leadership of our traditional rulers who have since time immemorial served as focal point for our communal spirit and development".

The President, however, said the crippling chieftaincy conflicts and disputes in some communities were retarding the people's progress. He gave the assurance that "the frustrating deeds of chieftaincy contractors would be bought to an end in the near future if the Chieftaincy Act of 23008 (Act 759) is strictly adhered to."

President Mills commended Na Puowele Karbo III, Paramount Chief of the Lawra Traditional Area, and the elders for sustaining and organizing the festival to provide the people a platform to thank God and the ancestral spirits for seeing them through a challenging year.

He urged the people of the traditional area to use the occasion to discuss development issues and rededicate themselves to the cause of peace and development.

President Mills advised the people "I wish to call on everyone present here to reflect soberly on what we can do to uplift the traditional area to greater heights".

Concerning education and welfare of children, the President noted that children were future leaders and should be given a special place in the development agenda of the country.

He said government would provide an enabling environment for the education of every child of school going age through its pro-poor educational interventions such as the Capitation Grant and School Feeding Programme and make education accessible to all.

President Mills said "Parents would have no excuse to deny their children of basic education since the wealth of every nation lie in its human and material resources".

He asked parents to ensure that their children refrained from vices that were inimical to their development, saying that an unhealthy population has serious adverse implications on national development. President Mills said the HIV/AIDS pandemic was taking a toll on the youth who formed the bulk of the country's working group and entreated parents to exercise control over their children to avoid contracting the disease.

"There is need to return to our good cultural practices that in the past helped us to mould the growth and moral development of our children", he said.