Obrempong Hema Dekyi
OBREMPONG HEMA Dekyi, Paramount Chief of Upper Dixcove Traditional Area in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region, has called on chiefs of Ahanta land to prioritise development over litigation.
According to him, for a long time the Ahanta area has been plagued with chieftaincy disputes which are adversely affecting the area’s progress.
He said it was about time they put the interest of Ahanta first, adding, “Whatever the issue is, we can sit as one people and smoke the peace pipe.”
The paramount chief wondered why the youth were silent over the lack of accountability by their leaders on the money accrued from the sale of stool lands in the Ahanta area.
Obrempong Hema Dekyi therefore called on the youth to hold their leaders accountable for the use and sale of stool lands in their communities.
“The bane of Ahanta has never been the politician or anybody. The bane of Ahanta has not been the chiefs; it is the silence of the youth,” he said.
Addressing a section of his subjects, the chief stressed that it was about time they called Nananom to order.
He continued, “The chiefs are not thin gods, we are human beings just like you, we were picked among you and we were only elevated just to lead you. We are not supposed to let you be worse off than you deserve.”
He advised his colleague traditional rulers to seek better terms of agreement when investors make offers for their lands, adding that should inure to the benefit of the youth.
“I have been advising my chiefs that lands are not for sale. I have been on this stool for seven years and I have not sold a plot of land before,” he said.
“People keep on knocking at my door to buy land. They come with huge sums of money but the issue is that the terms they offer will not help the youth and so I don’t sell lands,” he noted.
He said the development of Ahanta should be the priority of all indigenes.
FROM Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi