By Philip Tengzu
Lawra, (UW/R), July 16, GNA – The Lawra Traditional Council has appealed to the government, benevolent individuals and organisations and the natives of the traditional area to urgently renovate its office complex to help provide a conducive environment for dispute resolution.
It said the facility was in a very deplorable condition and not conducive and befitting office space for the revered traditional leadership of the area.
Naa Volkur Nyuure Tang IV, the Chief of Ermon, made the appeal when Mr Bede Ziedeng, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Lawra Constituency, donated plastic chairs and a motorbike to support the Council’s administrative activities.
The facility had deteriorated significantly over the years and no longer provided a suitable environment for traditional administrative work and the settlement of disputes.
During a visit to the facility, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed that the doors and windows of the offices were broken, the premise engulfed by weeds, and the Council Hall was without fans.
Naa Tang indicated that the members of the Traditional Council had been going through a lot of challenges, including excessive heat whenever they convened meetings at the office.
“The Lawra Traditional Council is one of the oldest traditional councils, but as I have mentioned, it is terrible going to our office,” he said.
The chief, therefore, appealed to the MP and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) to work together to give a facelift to the facility.
Speaking in an interview with the GNA at Lawra, Mr Kudus Seidu Pelpuo, the Registrar of the Lawra Traditional Council, emphasised the need for urgent support to renovate the facility to enable the chiefs to have a befitting place for their meetings.
He stressed that the Traditional Council belonged to the entire traditional area and should not be viewed as the personal property of any chief or royal family.
Mr Pelpuo said the people of the traditional area should, therefore, see its maintenance as a collective responsibility since every person who occupies the throne depended on it for official duties.
He also lamented that the lack of a dedicated sanitation officer for the Council had compounded their challenges since he sometimes personally procured and paid for the services of a cleaner.
He appealed to philanthropists, natives of Lawra and development partners to take an interest in maintaining the office complex to improve the working conditions of both staff and chiefs.
Responding to the concerns, Mr Ziedeng, the MP, encouraged the Traditional Council to channel its requests through the Municipal Assembly.
He said this was because the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs oversees the welfare of the chieftaincy institution in the country and should have an interest in maintaining the facility.
He, however, said he would also scout for support to renovate and maintain the facility.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Philip Tengzu
Photo caption: The Lawra Traditional Council office building