OTI BOATENG PROTESTS AGAINST GOVT APPOINTMENTS (PAGE 15)

THE Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Oti Boateng, has strongly protested against the manner in which the government appointed people to the New Juaben Municipal Assembly.
That is because neither he nor the New Juaben Traditional Council was consulted before the appointments were made.
In line with constitutional provisions, the government is to appoint one-third of assembly members in consultation with the traditional authorities.
The New Juaben Omanhene raised the objection when the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu- Ampofo, visited him in his palace in Koforidua to introduce himself to the Omanhene.
The visit, which coincided with the Akwasidae Festival of the people of New Juaben, also saw Madam Bernice Beatrice Boateng, the Member of Parliament (MP) for New Juaben South, visiting the place.
Both the minister and the MP presented drinks to the Omanhene.
According to Daasebre Oti Boateng, it was totally unacceptable for the government to appoint people to the assemblies without consulting the traditional rulers who were the custodians of the land.
“It has been clearly stipulated in the Constitution that such appointments can only be made after due consultation with Nananom, but in the case of New Juaben and other traditional areas this has not been done so we the chiefs here object to the appointments because they are a misrepresentation,” he stated.
The Omanhene, who indicated that President John Evans Atta Mills had personally assured him and some traditional leaders at a recent meeting that he would consult them, said he would take up the matter for redress.
“If President Mills assured us that we would be consulted on such matters, why should people sit in a political party office to select others to represent us without consulting us?” he asked.
The Eastern Regional Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Tawia Boateng, who responded to Daasebre’s objection, gave the assurance that anything that was wrongly done would be corrected.
Earlier, Mr Ofosu-Ampofo had indicated his administration’s preparedness to tap the knowledge of the Omanhene and also collaborate with all to develop the region, which he said had a lot of human and natural resources such as gold, diamond, arable land and tourist attractions.
For her part, Madam Boateng indicated the NPP’s readiness to co-operate with the NDC to move the region forward.
The Omanhene, who was happy that both officials and the members of the NDC and the NPP had agreed to work hand in hand to develop the municipality and the region, also gave the assurance that he would offer the necessary assistance that would accelerate the development of the area.