HELP PROMOTE DEV IN TRADITIONAL AREAS (Page 20)

Story: Samuel Duodu, Sunyani

THE Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, has called on traditional rulers to use their unique position to help promote development in their respective traditional areas instead of engaging in litigations which could retard the progress of their areas.
He stated that leadership was about helping to improve the lot of the people, and urged traditional rulers to help fight against underdevelopment.
Mr Baffour-Awuah made the call at a grand durbar to climax the first anniversary celebration of the instalment of Oboaman Bofotia Boa-Amponsah II as Krontihene of the Sunyani Traditional Area in the Brong Ahafo Region.
The week-long celebration was aimed at rekindling the communal spirit of the people of Sunyani towards the rapid socio-economic development of the area.
Mr Baffour-Awuah stated that apart from chiefs using their position to fight under-development, they must also be able to mobilise their people to initiate projects that would go a long way to benefit them, as well as rekindle their communal spirit.
He observed that modernity had affected the chieftaincy institution in recent times and for the people to recognise and accord respect to the institution, traditional rulers must begin to redefine their roles so as to make the institution to reassert its relevance.
Mr Baffour-Awuah also stressed the importance of education to the development of communities, and therefore suggested to the Krontihene to set up an education endowment fund to support brilliant needy students from the area to pursue higher education.
Nana Bofotia re-emphasised the unique roles that traditional rulers played in the society and their ability to mobilise their people for communal labour.
He called for the revival of certain aspects of the country’s culture that were dying out, saying that the Centres for National Culture and other institutions of culture must be brought to the doorsteps of the people if they were to have any meaningful impact on society.
Nana Bofotia disclosed that he was going to launch a crusade for the planting of trees to promote ecological balance and wildlife conservation.
Among the dignitaries who graced the occasion were the Omanhene of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bosoma Aso Nkrawiri II, the Brong Ahafo Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP) James Oppong-Boanuh, and Pastor Fredrick Adjei-Baah, President of the Mid-West Conference of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.