By Samuel Akumatey
Anyako (V/R), May 13, GNA – A traditional council has been instituted for the Amugo-Vego Traditional Area in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region.
The Council is a constitutional provision, which grants eligible traditional areas administrative and judicial structures to further decentralise the national traditional leadership institution.
The Amugo-Vego Traditional Council is one of five established in the Volta Region this year, all of which had befitting offices also commissioned.
Judicial oaths and others of secrecy and office were taken by a total of 14 gazetted rulers including a queen mother who became initial members of the Council.
Togbi Tenge Dzokoto Gligui VII, the paramount ruler of the area, was sworn in as President at a ceremony drenched in joyous celebration and traditional culture.
Mr. Evans Habada, Head of the Chieftaincy Ministry’s Human Resource Management, inaugurated the Council on behalf of Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the Minister.
The Minister entreated traditional rulers to enhance their leadership capabilities to be able to deal with new challenges in a fast-transforming world and assured them of the needed support including logistics and training.
“Currently, Chiefs are required to lead in the war against environmental degradation, and poverty reduction among others aimed at achieving some level of development at the local and national levels. The new role of Chiefs imposes the need for some form of adaptation or revision and training to enable him/her to fulfil his or her responsibilities” he said.
The Minister said chiefs and the people must continue to thread paths of unity to be able to make the new Council serve its purpose.
“This inauguration should be seen to integrate the people particularly our revered chiefs, and not to disintegrate them,” he said.
Mr Harry Attipoe, Registrar of the Volta House of Chiefs led the team from the Ministry to perform the inaugurations.
He asked all to uphold the relevance of the traditional council institution which should be considered an institution for all and not just the gazetted members.
Togbi Gligui thanked the Government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo for uplifting traditional leadership in the area.
He also commended the “hard work” of the Minister for Chieftaincy and his predecessor, the leadership of the House of Chiefs, and traditional rulers of the area both past and present “who invested heavily to make this day a reality.”
Togbi Gligui spoke of how the formal traditional institution would become instrumental in uniting resources for the development of the lagoon community.
He said the Traditional Area was strategically located for agriculture and aquaculture development, and that with the ongoing prioritisation of education, its contribution to national development should be enhanced.
“The Amugo-Vego Traditional Area has enough resources to develop Ghana as a whole,” he asserted.
Local stakeholders including the heads of the local Assembly promised needed support for the Council.
Other Councils inaugurated in the Region during the three-day exercise are the Dzodze, Weta, Ave Xevi, and Awate Traditional Councils.
GNA