Apam takes steps to reduce funeral expenses

The chiefs and people of Apam, in the Central Region, have put in place measures to clamp down on expensive funeral celebrations in the town.

Under the measures, the one-week celebration of a deceased person would start at 0700 hour and end at 2100 hour prompt without music, drink and food.

Wearing of special funeral clothes had also been banned.

Nana Edu Effrim the Tenth, Chief of Apam and his Tufuhene (sub chief), Nana Kwame Ntoah the Fifth, made this known when they addressed heads of clan, their linguists, leaders of the Two Asafo Companies, Queen-mothers and opinion leaders, at a meeting at Apam.

The meeting was to finalize a new bye-law attached to the measures.

According to them, offenders would be fined between 500 and 1,000.00 Ghana Cedis.

The meeting also banned the distribution of plastic bowls, cups, buckets and plates to the public.

The meeting also urged children to provide coffins they could afford, depending on how their deceased parents educated them, or the properties left for them.

It was agreed at the meeting that the new bye-law should be made a booklets and sold to all clan heads for their compliance.

A 13-member task force has been instituted to enforce the bye-laws.

The meeting advised parents to take proper care of their children, and also give them quality education, to enable the children become responsible adults in order to offer befitting burials when the parents died.