Kpone (GA/R), Sept. 08, GNA - Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture on Friday, stated that Ghanaians could no longer afford to waste time and scarce resources on petty fending and vexations litigations over chieftaincy succession.

For this reason, he said, his ministry would work together with traditional rulers to help reduce to the barest minimum, the spate of chieftaincy disputes in the country.

Mr Boafo made this remark at a meeting with members of the Kpone Traditional Council during a familiarization visit to Kpone. He said the time had come for stakeholders in the chieftaincy institution to settle differences amicably and out of the law courts. The Chieftaincy and Culture Minister whose visit was the maiden one in a series of planned visits to chiefs in the Greater-Accra Region, suggested the adoption of the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism to deal with the numerous chieftaincy litigations in the country. =93We should not allow ourselves to be bogged down by endless litigation and thereby, as chiefs, find ourselves at the mercy of the judicial process.=94 Mr Boafo advised traditional rulers. He explained that the creation of his ministry was as a result of the importance that government attached to the chieftaincy institution, because of the vital role that traditional authorities played as partners in development.

The advantage of this new arrangement, he said, was to afford traditional rulers the chance of dealing directly with the Presidency.

Mr Boafo assured chiefs that his doors were always opened to them for consultations, deliberations and suggestions, which he hoped, would contribute effectively to the smooth-running of the chieftaincy institution.

He commended the chiefs and people of the Kpone Traditional Area for the prevailing peaceful atmosphere in the area, and urged them to sustain it.

Nii Tetteh Otu II, Paramount Chief of the Kpone Traditional Area dismissed the wrong notion in certain quarters that the creation of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture by government was an attempt to control chiefs in the country.

He observed that, as the bedrock of the nation's culture, chieftaincy was a unifying force in the multiplicity of ethnicity.

'We do not only act as custodians of land, but also as custodians of our cultures and customary practices. We have history, we have language, and we have worship. Those are the ingredients of the culture, and every chief worth his salt, must be aware of this,' he pointed out.

Nii Otu, who is also the President of the Greater-Accra Regional House of Chiefs expressed grave concern about the nefarious activities of chieftaincy contractors, who he regretted, deliberately ignore laid down procedures for the nomination and installation of chiefs, thus, trying to bring confusion to the honourable noble institution. He further regretted that, these days, people, who were not in the line to be installed chiefs, were all clamouring to be made chiefs, and therefore, urged the Minister to 93see through them and place them where they belong.'

He pledged the support of traditional rulers for government programmes aimed at creating jobs for the unemployed youth so that, as chiefs, they would enjoy the peace to play their respective roles effectively. During an open forum, Nii Teye Adumuah, Apollonia Mantse, suggested that chiefs be allowed to settle disputes through the Alternative Dispute Resolution, so as to restore the prestige, respect and honour they formerly enjoyed.