Don’t yield to political manipulation - National House of Chiefs advises youth

The National House of Chiefs (NHC) has advised the youth of Ghana not to allow themselves to be used by politicians to cause trouble during the upcoming elections.

It asked the youth to conduct themselves in a manner that would preserve the peace and harmony of the country and not allow themselves to be manipulated by politicians.

Addressing the members of the NHC at its last general meeting of the year, the President of the house, Togbe Afede XIV, remarked that traditional leaders were concerned about the atmosphere in the country leading up to the December elections.

He said as the elections drew near, there was the likelihood of some politicians employing the youth to cause mayhem for their parochial interests and advised the youth to “shun all such politicians and ensure that you are not manipulated and used for the wrong purposes”.

“And on behalf of Nananom, I want to urge the youth of this country to comport themselves in ways that will preserve our country’s peace and unity,” he said.

Mandate and desire

Togbe Afede, who is also the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, reminded politicians that while they campaigned for votes to get the mandate of the people, “our people have, as their ultimate desire, peace, unity and development; development that brings them the basic necessities of life, development that will enhance the living standard”.

He, therefore, called on political parties to also do all within their power not only to preserve the peace of the country as they went to the length and breadth of the country campaigning for votes but also avoid creating divisiveness by their words and action.

“The need for campaigning is to tell the people what plans you intend to roll out that will help provide the basic necessities and development; it should not be attacks that will end up dividing people,” he said.

Role of chiefs

The President of the NHC further appealed to traditional rulers to ensure that the youth were educated to stay out of trouble, as they represented the future of the country, stressing: “Their future is very important and whatever our venerable leaders will do to preserve their future is something that the youth must support.”

He also urged chiefs to take seriously their developmental role in their various communities and their role in ensuring that there was peace in their jurisdictions, adding: “It is our contribution to the overall national unity and development.”

COVID-19 support

Togbe Afede, on behalf of the NHC, also expressed gratitude to the government for supporting traditional leaders in the country with GH¢1 million from the COVID-19 Support Fund to help the chiefs in their roles in combating the spread of the virus.

Giving a breakdown of how the amount would be disbursed, he said each of the 10 regional house of chiefs would be given GH¢80,000, with the remaining GH¢200,000 going to the NHC.

The NHC President urged all the regional houses of chiefs to properly account for the money they received for onward report to the government to justify the support.

LI 2409

Togbe Afede also informed the house that legislative instrument (LI) 2409 on the membership of the regional houses of chiefs had been passed.

He explained that following the creation of the six new regions, there was the need to amend the LI to include the new regions and their composition.

Accordingly, the passage of the LI had paved the way for that act, he indicated.

Houses of chiefs

The Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, who was at the NHC, intimated that all was set for the inauguration of the new regional houses of chiefs, as well as the construction of new offices for others.

He said on September 2 and 4, 2020, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo would cut the sod for the construction of the Volta and the Western regional houses of chiefs, respectively.

He said on September 9, 10 and 12, respectively, “the President will visit the Bono East, Bono and Ahafo regions to inaugurate the new houses and cut the sod for the construction of offices and conference halls, as well as apartments, for these new regions”.

Mr Dzamesi further indicated that during the inauguration, President Akufo-Addo would hand over one Toyota Landcruiser and a pick-up vehicle to each of the new houses to aid in their duties.