Kukuom (B/A), Aug 13, GNA- Osahene Kwaku Aterkyi 11, Paramount Chief of the Kukuom Traditional Area, at the weekend stressed that the nation's development was the collective responsibility of all Ghanaians and not the government alone.

The Omanhene emphasized that "the government only acts as a leader and it is the collective responsibility of the whole citizenry to lend support to ensure development and progress in our various communities". Osahene Aterkyi, who recently received a Grand Medal Award of the Order of the Volta for his meritorious services to his community and the nation at large, was speaking to newsmen at the end of a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of the area at which he formally presented the award to them.

The Omanhene, an eminent land economist, disclosed that he freely released 250 acres of family land in 1976 for the establishment of the Kukuom Agric Secondary School "as a gift to the government". He said out of his own resources he procured a bus, paid the salaries of the tutors for three years and supplied textbooks to the school, which has progressed to become one of the model institutions in the country.

Osahene Aterkyi, who has ruled for the past 18 years, added that he initiated the establishment of the Kukuom Community Bank, which is one of the 15 out of the 135 community banks to benefit from the micro-finance project of the Bank of Ghana.

He urged Ghanaians to selflessly contribute to the development of their communities since the government alone could not shoulder the burden of national development.

On the depletion of the country's forests, the Omanhene who trained as a chartered surveyor in the United Kingdom urged that it was the collective responsibility of all to ensure the greening of the nation, saying the exercise could also create employment.

He said he had charged all the divisions under his jurisdiction to map out areas for afforestation and urged all citizens to take the programme seriously. Osahene Aterkyi urged traditional authorities, public and private sectors to help promote the production capacity of manpower resources of the country and that land utilization policy "must be taken seriously". He reiterated that he initiated and completed projects in his area with resources he gathered whilst working in the British Civil Service.