The National House of Chiefs has elevated 15 divisional chiefs in the Upper West Region to paramountcies, bringing the total number of paramountcies to 32, Alhaji Amidu Sulemana, Upper West Regional Minister has announced.

He said the elevation of the chiefs would ensure good governance at the local level, reduce the incidence of chieftaincy-related disputes, and encourage the participation of many communities in the decision-making process.

He said it was government's expectation that the newly elevated chiefs would work hard to accelerate the development of their communities.

Alhaji Sulemana announced this at this year’s Republican Day celebration with retired government workers, popularly called “senior citizens” in Wa on Tuesday.

He noted that much as he was happy about the creation of more paramountcies in the region, he was equally sad that as many as 10 paramountcies were at the moment vacant, due to litigation which was not beneficial to the people.

The regional minister appealed to traditional rulers and kingmakers in those communities, to initiate actions and address them amicably without any further delay.

Alhaji Sulemana used the occasion to highlight some disturbing attitudes and behaviours, which were gradually destroying the moral fibre of society.

He said Ghana was experiencing the creeping and unacceptable alien cultures, which were impacting negatively on the time-tested norms and practices of the people.

He mentioned the use of the social media for negative activities, crime and gross indiscipline by the youth, in the name of modernity and the upsurge of sex trade among others, as worrying.

Alhaji Sulemana explained that some practices such as disrespect for authority, truancy among school children, the disregard for rules and regulations and the indiscriminate littering of refuse without considering the negative consequences, greed and the craze for quick money, had become a social canker thwarting efforts to build a better Ghana.

He urged senior citizens, churches, chief imams, opinion leaders, policy makers and non-state actors, to join forces in the fight against those social cankers which were fast destroying the good strides Ghana had made.

Alhaji Sulemana reminded the senior citizens of the National Sanitation Day exercise in the region on July 4, and urged them to advocate for communal labour to rid the communities of filth.

“We need the co-operation of traditional rulers, opinion leaders, students, youth groups, drivers, traders, market women and the security agencies, to come out and participate actively in the exercise,” he emphasized