Akyem Oda, May 18, GNA - Dr Kwasi Akyem Apea-Kubi, the Eastern Regional Minister, has commended the Akyem Kotoku Traditional Council for resolving their 12 year-year-old chieftaincy dispute.

He noted that disputes retard progress and appealed to Traditional Councils in the region to use all their wisdom and experiences to resolve disputes amicably whenever they occur. Dr Apea-Kubi gave the advice when he paid a courtesy call on Chiefs in the Kotoku Traditional Council at the Palace at Akyem Oda to formally introduce himself to them. He appealed to the chiefs to rally solidly behind the government in its determination to make life meaningful to all Ghanaians.

Dr Apea-Kubi indicated that on the assumption of office, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Government identified 4,320 Schools, which were under trees and had started replacing them with modern school buildings to promote effective teaching and learning in schools. He appealed to all contractors working on those projects to expedite action on them to enable pupils and students to study in a serene atmosphere.

Dr Apea-Kubi expressed worry at the activities of illegal miners in the region, which are posing serious threat to the environment and called for concerted efforts from the chiefs to address the situation. Nana Akua Asantewa III, the queen of the Kotoku Traditional Area, expressed dissatisfaction about the rising cases of drug addiction and stealing among the youth and challenged the police to take the necessary steps to deal with the situation. She appealed to the Government to rehabilitate roads in the area to make travelling more convenient for the people. Nana Asantewa appealed to the Ministry of Health to allocate a quota of admissions at the Akyem Oda Community Health Nursing Training School to the Traditional Council to enable more of the indigenes to be enrolled in the school.