Upper West chiefs call on Prez Akufo-Addo
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has asked political leaders to be truthful and refrain from misleading the people with false claims of the execution of projects just to score political points.
He said while in opposition, he was told by the then National Democratic Congress (NDC) government that it had undertaken “unprecedented infrastructural development,” including many roads, yet everywhere he went, he was inundated with requests for road development.
President Akufo-Addo was reacting to a request by the members of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs for road construction in the region when they paid a courtesy call on him at the Jubilee House in Accra yesterday.
Appeals for construction of roads
He said in almost all the traditional areas he had visited, he had been met with passionate appeals for the construction of roads and stated that it was not good for politicians to be misleading the people.
“If they (politicians) have not done something, they should not claim it, write it in your book and make pronouncements on it,” the President advised.
That, he noted, was important because the people themselves would tell the truth of the situation.
The President recounted how as then opposition leader, he had questioned the claims by the NDC of having undertaken much road infrastructure, but was accused of sleeping while travelling on the roads, for which reason he could not appreciate the unprecedented road construction.
He said it was important that political leaders exercise a sense of responsibility when making claims about things they had done.
Dagbon
Touching on the resolved Dagbon Chieftaincy dispute, President Akufo-Addo said when he assumed office he was determined to help secure sustained peace in the area.
He said some people held the attitude that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was biased towards a section of the feuding groups and to disabuse their minds of that and make them aware that peace and stability of the area were paramount for the party and government, he did everything to ensure that peace was secured.
President Akufo-Addo said he was comforted by the way the matter was settled, which, he said, portrayed the sincererity of the position of the government.
He said as a result of the amicable settlement of the matter, Ghana’s profile had been heightened on the international scene as a peaceful country which used peaceful means in resolving matters.
The President urged the chiefs to ensure that the peace that had been attained was sustained and entrenched.
He urged them to help Yaa Naa Mahama Abukari II, in whatever way they could, to ensure that the peace secured was sustained and expressed the confidence that the Yaa Naa would live up to his responsibility.
Road works
President Akufo-Addo said the government was working on the construction of some main roads in the area, as captured in the budget statement so that it would help facilitate the movement of people and goods, as part of measures to improve trade between the people and those in the neighbouring countries.
He welcomed the decision of the chiefs, in conjunction with other identifiable groups, to support the fight against drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and other social vices that were on the increase.
Civil Education
The President shared the suggestion by the chiefs for the inclusion of civic education in the school curriculum and said such suggestions would be considered when the various curricula were being reviewed.
He noted that the young ones who had been to school in recent years, had not had the opportunity to know such things as history, heritage, the values of citizenship and attitude towards the constitution and country, which formed part of civic education, adding that they needed to have such education as well.
The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the House, Kuoro Richard Babini Kanton VI, who is the Tumu Kuoro, assured the President that the chiefs in the area would continue to partner the government to develop the country.