By Godfred A. Polkuu, GNA
Bolgatanga, Oct. 3, GNA – Mr Ambrose Dery, the Minister of Interior has stated that it is not within the powers of government to determine who becomes a Chief in any Traditional Area in the country.
He said the position of government on chieftaincy issues was clear, and that it was not the mandate of the executive to get involved in chieftaincy matters, “We do not determine who is a chief in every chieftaincy dispute.”
“All we seek to do is to make sure that activities of the disagreement do not degenerate into violent behaviour, or behaviour that will be in breach of the law. We keep the peace and security of the area and we leave the issues of the disputes to the Traditional authorities,” he said.
Mr Dery, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Nandom Constituency, said this when he met members of the Upper East Regional Security Council (REGSEC) to commence his two-day working visit to the Region to interact with security services under his Ministry.
The Minister was in the company of Mr Henry Quartey, the Deputy Minister of Interior and other top security personnel from the Police, Immigration, Fire Service, Prisons, Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority and officials from the Interior Ministry.
He called on the people of Bolgatanga to stop the violence and resort to due process, adding, “When the ruling comes out, I will like to encourage all parties to respect the ruling of the court. It is important we do that.”
“Should the ruling come and be found unfavourable by any group, due process demands that you can go on appeal, but we request humbly that there should be no violence at all. Bolga is a place that everybody will love to come to, but we cannot maintain that status if we continue to fight,” he said.
The Minister recalled that “At the time that I was living in Bolgatanga, the Chieftaincy issue was existing but it did not degenerate to the extent that is degenerating to, now.”
He thanked the REGSEC and security services in the Region for maintaining the peace in the Region, and urged them to continue to keep the peace.
For the past two years, since two Chiefs were enskinned for the Bolgatanga traditional area, there intermittent eruption of violent conflict, over who the authentic Chief is, that has left a few people injured and property destroyed.
GNA
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS