The Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs has urged government to revert to the previous administrative boundaries in the region.
The President of the Regional House of Chiefs, Nii Akwey Kinka Dowuona, cited that some communities in James Town and Teshie-Nungua areas had been re-demarcated under different administrative controls.
He made the appeal when the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Ishmael Ashitey, yesterday presented assorted items to the chiefs at Dodowa in the Shai Osudoku District of the Greater Accra Region, to support the Homowo celebrated in the Ga-Dangme communities.
He said this had given those communities the wrong impression that they were autonomous and not under the control of the previous traditional authority.
Nii Dowuona said the situation had also resulted in the over lapping of the governance structure of the traditional authorities thereby creating tension among the people in the region.
He stated that the creation of the region into political and traditional boundaries was creating serious rifts among the people as opportunists have taken advantage of the new demarcations and were creating chieftaincy domains that did not belong to them.
“The advent of new administrative areas has created the room for undeserving people, who are holding themselves as sub chiefs, and causing confusion among the people including the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs),” he added.
The region, Nii Dowuona noted was sitting on a “time bomb”, and to forestall any trouble, the government must re-draw the boundaries and clearly state the jurisdiction of each political and administrative area.
He said “for how long shall the House continue to sit on trivial issues when more pressing matters are needed for the socio-economic development of the people”.
Nii Dowuona appealed to MMDA’s to get a list of gazetted chiefs from the regional house of chiefs to ward off imposters parading as chiefs.
Mr Ashietey urged the chiefs to set up a committee to look into the matter and submit their report for submission to the chieftaincy ministry.
According to him, the created boundaries have been approved and gazetted by Parliament, and it was only the law makers who could reverse the decision, because it was the same demarcation that the electoral commission was using to conduct elections.
The minister urged the chiefs to promote peace and ensure that the youth took advantage of government programmes to improve upon themselves and their communities.
Mr Ashitey cautioned the people not to consider the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions as a licence to lower their guards as the pandemic was still causing havoc.
The items included 15 maxi bags of maize, two cows, 100 cartons of bottled water, 90 crates of alcohol beverages, 50 gallons of palm oil, 50 cartons of edible oil, 100 bags of Rice and two cartons of Johney Walker Whiskey, and an unspecified amount of money.
FROM LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AKPALU, DODOWA
