The President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, has condemned those who attempt to destool chiefs without recourse to the legislation regulating destoolment.
He said such unlawful acts, which, most of the time were accorded wider publicity than the positive sides of the chieftaincy institution, must be condemned by all.
Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin suggested to the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs to sensitise such persons, whom he referred to as chieftaincy contractors, to save the chieftaincy institution and the country from unnecessary tensions with its attendant security implications.
That, according to him, would help preserve the institution to continue to cater for the people in the various traditional areas and, at the same time, play its role in national development.
Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, who is also the Okyenhene, made the remarks when he addressed the end-of- year meeting of the House in Koforidua.
The meeting was to take stock of the activities of 2013 and plan for this year.
�In recent times, there have been attempts by certain groups of people to bring this noble institution of chieftaincy into disrepute and I am referring to the common phenomenon where agitated persons purport to destool chiefs,� he said.
Concerning decentralisation, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, who is a strong advocate of that process, repeated his earlier calls for the election of metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives by the people while the provision of social amenities and other development programmes in the communities must also be decided by the people.
With regard to education, the President of the House, who commended Nene Sakite, Paramount Chief of Manya Krobo, for instituting a scholarship scheme for over 500 needy pupils and students over a five-year period, asked chiefs to initiate similar programmes so that no child in the region would be denied education.
The operations of illegal gold (galamsey) miners did not escape Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin�s consideration as he called on colleague chiefs and the government to continue with the crusade to stop such acts which had degraded the environment.
He also suggested that chiefs must be prepared to initiate development projects to improve the living standards of their people.
Dilating on the reconstruction of the Regional House of Chiefs, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin appealed to the chiefs to donate, as well as help raise funds to replace the structure which, to him, did not befit their status
He commended the Akuapem Nifa, Benkum and Adonten divisional chiefs who, for the past 20 years, had decided not to serve the Okuapehene but had now smoked the peace pipe with him, saying: �Coming together once again will strengthen Okuapeman.�
All the paramount chiefs or their representatives later took turns to address the House, highlighting various development projects and other initiatives being undertaken in their respective areas.
Earlier, Nana Asiedua Aboagyewaa, the Nkosuahemaa of Apedwa (known in private life as Dr Margaret Duah), a lecturer at the University of Ghana, Legon, presented a cheque for GH�10,000 to Barima Kofi Adjei Twinin, Dwantuahene of Akyem Abuakwa, who is also the Chairman of the Building Committee of the House for the renovation of the premises.
The donation was in fulfilment of a pledge made by the Apedwa Nkosuahemaa during the inauguration of the building committee about three months ago.
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