Nsoatre youth appeal to President
The Nsoatre Traditional Council and a group calling itself Concerned Youth of the town have accused the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC), chaired by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, and the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sunyani West, Mrs Agnes Kusi, of meddling in chieftaincy matters in the area, instead of ensuring effective development.
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They, however, admitted that: ‘‘We are all aware of the prolonged chieftaincy dispute that has retarded the progress and development of our dear town.’’
Politicians
The traditional council and the Concerned Youth further indicated that ‘‘the role played by the regional minister in handling the affairs of Nsoatre was unheard of, and “we humbly appeal to H.E. John Dramani Mahama to call him to order.”
“It is a common knowledge that politicians are not kingmakers but the Brong Ahafo regional minister has selected only four out of the 17 traditional council members and created another council in the town, a recipe for chaos,” they explained.
“We would like to put on record that Nana Hinneh Anframfo’s palace does not belong to the RCC nor the Sunyani West District Assembly. We would like to state emphatically that there have been several ministers in the region since 2001, but none of them sowed a seed of division in Nsoatre,” they stressed.
Press Conference
Addressing a joint press conference at Nsoatre, the two sides also noted that the unpatriotic role played by the DCE for Sunyani West to create confusion in the town could not be underestimated, saying, “She undermined the supremacy and integrity of the Nsoatre Traditional Council. she has also used her political power to cement divisions in the town by legitimising illegitimates.
However, in a quick rebuttal, the Deputy Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Justice Samuel Adjei, told the Daily Graphic in Sunyani in the absence of Mr Aidoo that the regional minister as the Chairman of the Regional Security Council (REGSEC) had never interfered in the 13-year-old chieftaincy dispute in Nsoatre but had rather ensured that security and peace prevailed in the town.
He recalled that at a point in the chieftaincy fracas, one person lost his life at the Nsoatre palace, explaining that “because of that the REGSEC was compelled to seize the keys to the palace so that no one would get access to the place to cause further trouble.”
Palace
Mr Adjei again explained that recently, the traditional council members realised that the palace had overgrown with weeds and it was fast deteriorating, thus the need to renovate and put it in good shape so that if anything at all, members could hold meetings there and also receive visitors (including government officials).
The deputy minister further recalled that the DISEC also wrote to the RCC to seek permission on behalf of the council to release the keys to the palace, following which there was a meeting with the DISEC and the REGSEC.
Eventually, he said, they all agreed on the need to rehabilitate the palace, saying that the RCC then advised that a committee be formed to oversee the development of the palace, which was done.
Royal Gate
Later, Mr Adjei indicated that the RCC decided to officially hand over the keys to the acting President of the council in the full glare of the people, saying, “It is not true that the regional minister had gone there with the RECSEC and the DISEC members to support one royal family. The idea of handing over the keys had nothing to do with taking sides in the chieftaincy dispute.”
When contacted, the DCE also explained that her core mandate was to ensure the development of the town and other parts of the district, but not to meddle in chieftaincy issues, adding, “I cannot pronounce who should or should not be a chief, that is not my job.’’`