Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs Urged To Solve Chieftaincy And Land Litigation Problems

Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, on Saturday appealed to the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs to find lasting solution to the numerous chieftaincy and land litigation problems in the region. According to him, solving some of these disputes largely depended on the goodwill of the parties involved. �It is only prudent that we use alternative measures other than litigation to resolve some of these matters,� he said. He said to ensure peace and unity in Greater Accra, there was the need for Regional House of Chiefs and Traditional Councils to provide a platform for out of court settlements for some of these disputes. Nii Armah Ashietey was speaking at a Luncheon to round off the annual Homowo Festival celebration at his residence. The occasion provided a forum to strengthen the cordial relations existing between the chiefs and the people of the Greater Accra Region and the Government. Nii Armah Ashietey explained that chieftaincy and land disputes had resulted in multiple claimants of royalties making the affected traditional areas unable to access �monies� due them as royalties at the Stool Lands Administration. He said these �monies� could be used to finance the education of a lot of brilliant but needy children in those traditional areas. He said it was important to preserve part of the land for agriculture purposes to attract the youth into agriculture. Nii Armah Ashietey said where stringent and near impossible conditions underpin the ownership and the use of land, and arable lands suitable for food production are sold for non-agriculture purposes, then the unavailability of land for agriculture would drive the youth away to the cities. He called on elders and opinion leaders in the Greater Accra Region to take pragmatic measures to ensure the protection of land resources for the productive use by the youth. He commended all Ga Dangme communities for the peaceful celebration of the Homowo Festival regardless of the chieftaincy disputes.