Axim, Sept. 12, GNA - Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, Western Regional Minister, on Saturday appealed to all traditional leaders in the country to ensure unity and common understanding among their people to bring about the needed development. Mr Aidoo made the appeal at a grand durbar of chiefs and people of Axim during their annual Kundum Festival at the weekend. The colourful durbar also marked the first time that the seven paramount areas in the Nzema Traditional Area had come together to celebrate Kundum.

He said the government was committed and dedicated towards ensuring unity, reconciliation, peace and development in all the traditional areas in the country. Mr Aidoo said: "Some traditional rulers and Kingmakers embroil their traditional areas in litigations to the detriment of all concerned," adding "even when lives are not lost, scarce resources have to be wasted by the affected chiefs on lawyers' fees. At other times, it is the government that has to spend huge sums of resources that should have gone into development projects on security operations for the maintenance of peace in those areas," he noted. Mr Aidoo said that the only fruit of prolonged chieftaincy and land litigations were poverty, misery and destruction and therefore, urged all feuding traditional areas in the country to bury their differences and live in peace and harmony. He gave the assurance that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government would not renege on its campaign promises and that it would pursue programmes and policies that would ensure the realization of the Better Ghana Agenda.

The Regional Minister commended the chiefs and people of Axim for using the festival as a platform to mobilize funds for the construction of Axim Girls Senior High School saying; "it calls for pragmatic efforts towards the education of the girl child". He said; "It is significant that at this stage of our development, we have to mobilize both human and material resources in the fight against underdevelopment, poverty, illiteracy, disease and squalor". Mr Aidoo said steps had been taken to phase out all schools under trees in the region and the country and that contracts for the construction of a six-unit classroom block with ancillary facilities for 52 schools under trees in the region had been awarded. "If completed, school pupils would be provided a conducive environment for teaching and learning in our schools," he added. He appealed to all and sundry to show interest in the upcoming district assemblies' elections and thus urged them to elect responsible people to the assembly so that they could articulate their concerns. Mr Aidoo also urged them to make themselves available to be counted in the upcoming population and housing census which starts from September 26, this year.

Awulae Attibrukusu III, President of the Western Regional House of chiefs and Paramount Chief of Lower Axim, appealed to the government to construct a sea defence wall along the coastline of Axim since heavy tidal waves was gradually eroding the land along the sea. He called on the government to provide basic amenities such as library, science laboratory and ICT centre for the Axim Girls Senior High to facilitate teaching and learning. Dignitaries that graced the occasion included Chief of Defence Staff, Lt General Peter Blay, Board Chairman of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Ato Ahwoi, municipal chief executives and chiefs. 12 Sept. 10