Upper East House of Chiefs Resolves Chieftaincy Disputes

Bolgatanga, Sept.02 GNA - The Upper East is currently one of the regions in the country that has recorded the least number of chieftaincy disputes, the President of the House, Naba Simon Ayidana Asobayire IV, observed on Friday.

He said the House has been able to achieve this through the application of the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Mechanism in the resolution of chieftaincy disputes in the region. Addressing the General Meeting of the House in Bolgatanga, Naba Asobayire explained that the only chieftaincy cases before the House were that of the Yameriga, Zebilla, the Zuarungu/Bolgatanga and the Chuchuliga Chieftaincy cases.

He said efforts were being pursued through the ADR Mechanism to also resolve those cases to pave way for development in those areas. The occasion was also used to swear in two Paramount Chiefs, the Bo-Naba, Baba Salifu of the Bongo Traditional Area and Pe Joseph Bawiapeh Afagachie the II, of the Nakong Traditional Area. The President of the House administered the House Membership Oath and the Bolgatanga Circuit Judge Mr. Ziblim Imoro administered the Judicial Oath.

The President of the House said with the swearing-in of the two paramount chiefs it would enable the house to form a quorum thereby enabling it to continue to perform their duties effectively. He impressed on the newly sworn-in chiefs to conduct themselves properly to win public confidence and to also help lobby for development in their areas.

The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Boniface Gambila, commended the House for their role in maintaining peace in the region and urged them to endeavour to resolve the few chieftaincy cases left. The Regional Minister entreated chiefs to always report strange characters who strayed into their villages to the law enforcement agencies to enable the security to curb social menaces, especially the recent upsurge of armed robbery on the country's major roads. He appealed to traditional rulers to educate their subjects to patronize the forthcoming District Assembly Level elections and called on the electorate to vote for people who were dedicated to serve in the assemblies and Unit Committees.