Residents in Enchi in the Aowin Municipal Assembly in the Western North Region have called on the chiefs and people in the Aowin Traditional Area to forge ahead in unity with the purpose to facilitate development.
They pointed out that the government alone could not bring the needed development to the area and that it was only through unity that the people could build a formidable traditional state.
According to the residents who spoke in an interview with the igoghana, the levels of chieftaincy disputes were fast destroying the security fabric of the Area and therefore expressed worry over the rising levels of chieftaincy disputes in the Area.
They said the few troubled spots in the municipality were as a result of chieftaincy disputes and pointed out that the municipality, which had an enviable reputation of being very peaceful, was losing grounds on that title due to some of these disputes, the cost of which was huge and a detriment to development.
Oyoko Abusuapayin Kofi Assan who added his voice to the matter lamented that the issues of chieftaincy disputes were the major problem bedevilling the Traditional Area and called on the chiefs to help find a lasting solution to the problem.
He described the situation as unfortunate, noting that in recent times the deserved recognition of the Traditional Area has been affected by litigations and conflicts.
“The more we fight, the more people cannot even have access to lands for development. Now when you get to the Traditional Council and they are fighting, who will have the time to register your land for you? So how can people have access to lands if they wanted to invest?” He said.
He said for the past three years they have witnessed a number of chieftaincy disputes in the Area and the worrying situation is where the chiefs from different areas under the Traditional Area attempt to assume superiority over other chiefs in the Area.
The Abusuapayin recounted a situation where some chiefs in the Area have connived and embezzled funds belonging to the Traditional Area which were meant for developmental and legacy projects to benefits the citizens.
For his part, Nana Oti Cascar, an Elder of the Area called on stakeholders in the chieftaincy institution to work quickly to resolve all chieftaincy disputes in the Region to pave way for peace, progress and development.
He said the days Aowin Traditional Area was known for conflicts are over as they are going to work tirelessly together with the Queen Mothers, Elders and the other chiefs to bring the desired development the people require.
According to him, even though some of the chiefs are in disputes, the Council of Elders in consultation with their legal team and, the Regional and National House of Chiefs were working tirelessly around the clock to resolve all outstanding conflicts to have a united front to fight for development.
He noted some conflicting issues in the Chieftaincy Act where acting chiefs can continue to exercise their duties when there is an installed but yet to be gazetted chief and called on the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to consider the Act for an amendment to avoid some of these disputes.
Nana Cascar, therefore, called for concerted efforts to address the issues to enhance progress and development in the Area and the region at large.
