Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III, President, Eastern Nzema Traditional Council
Members of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Council in the Western Region have bemoaned the surge in land litigation in the Ellembelle District, which they said is a setback to the peace and development of the area.
The President of the Council, Awulae Amihere Kpanyinli III has therefore asked traditional authorities involved in land disputes in the district to withdraw their cases from the law courts for amicable settlements at the council.
Speaking during the first traditional council meeting of the year at Atuabo, Awulae Kpanyinli III said chiefs’ involvement in land litigation at the various courts was a setback to the peace and development of the area.
He said many of the traditional rulers under his jurisdiction sometimes do not attend traditional council meetings because they have to be in courts over land disputes.
That, he said, adversely affected collective planning by the chiefs for the development of the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area.
“Hence there is the need for the litigants to bring such cases to the traditional council for expedited and amicable resolutions,” he added.
“So I am appealing to chiefs who are in courts over land issues to withdraw such cases and resort to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanism for the Traditional Council to adjudicate the cases,” he noted.
Nana Akye Blay, Chief of Menzezor, also in the Ellembelle District, thanked Awulae Kpanyinli III for making the land litigation issue a priority, and appealed to his fellow chiefs to adhere to the directive by the President of the Council.
Nana Bonya Kofi, Chief of Basake, appealed to the judicial committee of the traditional council to expedite action on the land cases already before the council in the interest of peace and development in the area.
Queenmother of Basake, Nana Aba, advised the chiefs to respect the various land boundaries and be guided by their land maps to avoid potential misunderstandings among them.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi