Solve chieftaincy disputes, UE Regional Minister appeals to Chiefs(D/G, May 2, 2013 Page 23)

Story: Benjamin Xornam Glover, Bolgatanga The Upper East Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru has appealed to the Regional House of Chiefs to work hard and resolves all pending chieftaincy disputes in the region. He said it is expected that as a sacrosanct institution, chieftaincy ought to be protected and sustained for posterity but sadly most of the chieftaincy conflicts arise as a result of lack of documentation of the lines of succession. He said it was about time a research team is constituted to come out with findings that will streamline the ascension process to any stool or skin to forestall disputes whenever a vacancy occurs. Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru gave this advice at a meeting of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs in Bolgatanga. He on behalf of the government commended the chiefs and people of the region for their co-operation and support in maintaining peace and stability and expressed the hope that chiefs during his administration would work closely with him to build on it. The Regional Minister said it is expected that chiefs would use their traditional authorities to unify their subjects and appeal to the various traditional councils to tread carefully to be ssen as neutral so that in the midst of political diversity, they can play their role as true leaders. “When such politically neutral positions are adopted, you can easily galvanize the people for self-help and other developmental projects and programmes. The President of the House, Naba Sigri Bewong, Paramount Chief of the Sakoti Traditional Area in a welcoming address said assured the Regional Minsiter and his deputy of their support in their new positions as the political leaders of the region. Naba Bewong also announced that a code of ethics for chiefs, prepared by a committee of the National House of Chiefs with funding from the Konrad Adenauer Stifung of Germany have been approved and will soon be launched during the course of the year. He explained that the Royal Code of Ethics for Chiefs will serve as a guide and any violation of any rule of the Code of Ethic per se shall not constitute grounds for disposition of a chief. “Every tradyional area has their own rules for dealing with violation of their customary practices that relate to their chief,” he said. He said although the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs has enjoyed relative peace, they have experienced a number of chieftaincy disputes with six cases currenrly pending before the Judicial Committee. “However it is gratifying to note that the Sandema case has been withdrawn by the two parties for amicable settlement. Naba Bewong appealed to the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs to consider the issues of lack of lawyer for the House. He also appealed to government to reconsider the issue of rehabilitation works of the Regional House of Chiefs building which ii in a deplorable state. The House also added its voice to calls on all striking labor unions in the country to rescind their decision and resort to dialogue in the face of the crippling effect their actions have on the ordinary person. Naba Bewong said Ghana is noted to be a peaceful and a leading democratic country in Africa and “we need a collective effort to advance the development of our country” -End- Writer’s email: Benjamin.glover@graphic.com.gh