Jasikan (V/R), March 15, GNA - Chiefs in the Buem Traditional Area at the weekend organised a reconciliation ceremony to end a 10-year stalemate. The dispute arose between Nana Aburam Akpandja IV, Omanhene of Buem an= d his divisional chiefs over alleged vitriolic actions, leading to litigation= s about his destoolment in court.

The reconciliation exercise has therefore set the stage for the roadma= p for accelerated development, which would be spelt out at its first Traditional Council meeting slated next month.

Colonel Cyril Necku (RTD), Deputy Volta Regional Minister, acknowledge= d the significant role of the chieftaincy institution for local level governance and development.

He debunked assertions that chieftaincy as an institution has outlived its usefulness, saying it is more relevant in the changing globalised world than ever.

Col. Necku said government's development interventions for national growth and socio-economic development could materialise when the people lived in peace to stem disease, poverty and squalor. He expressed joy that the chiefs after a decade of dispute have smoked the peace-pipe and exhorted other feuding communities in the country to tak= e a cue from the Buem experience.

Most Reverend Gabriel Ababio Mante said Buem could only survive when there was peace, stressing that division, animosity and hatred were great elements of destruction and disservice in the face of development. Mr Ford Henry Kamel, Deputy Minister of Lands and Natural Resources said the reconciliation exercise denoted a rebirth of Bueman and called on the people to be proactive towards the rapid development efforts and garner attitudes that would sustain the peace gestures.

Mr Kamel, pledged to sponsor a Buem Congress in order to harness the potential human and material resources in the area for accelerated socio-economic development. He said he would provide 500 bags of cement towards a new Palace project and called for re-alignment of the traditional boundaries to ensure equity. Nana Barima Kumessy Bonsy, Jasikan District Chief Executive said his resolve for the peace stemmed from the stalled development projects and the breakdown of law and order across in the area.

He expressed optimism that the peace would be consolidated and sustained. Nana Aburam Akpandja IV, Paramount Chief of Buem Traditional Area, commended the traditional leadership, and all stakeholders in the peace process. He said: 93Where mutual respect, perseverance, understanding and determination persisted, failure has no room to operate," and reminded th= e chiefs on the need to keep their mutual resolve to co-exist peacefully. Mr Isaka Buraima, President of the Coalition for Peace and Development in Buem said the reunification rites has opened a new chapter for the resolution of other chieftaincy disputes to champion accelerated developmen= t that had alluded the area over a decade. He expressed joy that at long last the dignity and respect of the chieftaincy institution has been restored. Nana Okoto Kofi III, Paramount Chief of Nkonya, who presided entreated the parties to deepen the peace gestures by instituting a commemorative unity festival to serve as a reference point for development.