Accra-Ghana, Dec. 26, GNA – The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has handed over office equipment worth over GHC2 million to the 16 Regional Houses of Chiefs as part of its retooling drive at a ceremony in Accra.
The equipment included quantities of executive chairs and tables, desk top computers and accessories, visitors’ chairs, photocopy machines and printers.
Mr Ebenezer Kojo Kum, sector Minister commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for working tirelessly to secure the equipment to re-tool the offices.
Mr Kum recounted the immense roles that the various Regional Houses of Chief and Traditional Councils played in ensuring peace and development in the country.
“Houses of Chiefs and traditional Councils as we all know play key and vital roles in maintaining peace and creating the conductive atmosphere for the development in their respective traditional areas and the country at large.
The roles or services of the Houses need to be fortified to ensure that they serve or dish out right quantities to the Ghanaian society.
Mr Kum said to ensure good governance at the local level, the Ministry inaugurated six Traditional Councils in the Volta and Oti Regions and four other Councils in the Upper West Regions.
He said over the years the challenge of lack of equipment had been featured in the various reports of the Ministry adding that the provision of the equipment would help address the challenge half-way.
According to him, the provision of the equipment was indication of the good things to come in the coming years.
Mr Kum said in 2023, the Ministry would focus on the capacity building for staff and Chiefs and the Ministry would also be piloting the automation of the judicial processes of the Houses to ensure speedy, effective, and efficient adjudication of Chieftaincy disputes before the Judicial Committee of the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs.
“We will also set the framework to enable the compilation of materials on aspects of Chieftaincy and traditional authority to produce a compendium.
We will inspect and inaugurate twenty (20) Traditional Councils to improve service delivery and strengthen mechanism to effectively manage the chieftaincy and religious structures for the involvement in national development and the enhancement and inculcation of values for active citizen participation.”
Mr Kum said “we hope to finalize the religious policy and also revamp our Religious (Christian) Pilgrimage to the state of Israel in 2023.”
Madam Fati Lily Soale, Acting Chief Director, Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs said the newly created regions would be getting more of the equipment and appealed to the beneficiary regions to maintain the equipment and procure anti- virus to protect the equipment.
Odeefuo Amoakwa Buadu VIII, Breman Asikumahene, who chaired the occasion, noted that the role of chiefs could not be overemphasized as chiefs had played diverse roles in their communities in ensuring peace in homes and communities.
He noted that Chiefs had resolved more cases in communities where there were no police stations.
According to him, the retooling of the various Regional Houses of Chiefs would assist them to work effectively and efficiently and appealed to the Ministry to procure a software to protect and preserve data kept on the computers.
He called for more training in Alternative Disputes Resolution (ADR) as same had proved to be the most cost effective and timely modes of settling disputes.
