THE Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng, has appealed to politicians to stop interfering in chieftaincy affairs.
He said as a nation of great traditions and customs, Ghanaians and their traditional leaders could do far better without political interference in chieftaincy matters.
He also urged his colleague chiefs “to prize honour and virtue above anything else and resist all undue influences in whatever shape and form so as to restore the dignity of the sacred institution of chieftaincy”.
Addressing the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs at an end-of-year meeting in Koforidua on Thursday, Daasebre Oti Boateng said a lot could be done with the support of chiefs in the country.
Daasebre Oti Boateng, who is the President of the House, took the opportunity to urge the chiefs to synchronise the various festivals within the different traditional areas in the region so as to enable the chiefs to participate in each other’s festival to further promote tourism and unity in the region.
On national issues, he stated that the statistical rebasing of Ghana’s national income had revealed that the country had now joined the league of middle-income countries, adding that the new status carried with it huge responsibilities for the country as a whole and also individuals in the country.
The former Government Statistician indicated that the country needed to stay focused in its development agenda and ensure that the benefits of the accelerated growth, especially the new oil revenues, would be spread equitably and fairly to improve the welfare of all Ghanaians.
He stressed that “as individuals or members of various groups or parties, we need to ensure that peace prevails in our society, since peace is the greatest pillar upon which a nation’s prosperity could be built”.
He also pointed out that as a people we needed to show love to one another and also to appreciate different points of views which were all essential for nation building.
Daasebre Oti Boateng, who is also a United Nation’s Commissioner, made reference to his experience in Chile during the earthquake on February 27, 2010 and said it inspired him to develop an innovative globalised model for disaster management which had received the approbation of the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban-Ki Moon.
He said his second achievement in the year was the conferment on him as the Vice-chancellor of the World Academy of Letters at a special Vice-chancellor Commencement Ceremony within the halls of Saint John’s College, Cambridge University, England in August 2010.
He maintained that the above two events exemplified the crucial role the chieftaincy institution was playing, not only on the national development agenda but on the global scene.
The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, asked for the support of chiefs to deal with illegal chain-saw operators and miners who he said continued to pollute the environment especially the Birim River, the source of drinking water for numerous communities in the region.
Mr Ampofo, who was not also happy about a low court fine recently imposed on an illegal gold miner in the region who used sophisticated equipment and dangerous chemicals to pollute the waters of the Birim River, called for higher punitive measures to deter others from destroying the environment.
He called on the chiefs to support the Regional Co-ordinating Council to administer the region.
In respect of the road sector, he said remarkable achievements had been made with the Abetifi-Nkawkaw road almost complete while the Asamankese-Suhum road had been awarded on contract, a major development being the completion of dual carriageway from the polytechnic to Oyoko in the New Juaben Municipality which has also been lighted.
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