Dormaahene outdoored

Dormaa-Ahenkro, (B/A), July 25, GNA - A grand durbar of chiefs and people of Dormaa was held at the Abanpredease Palace at Dormaa-Ahenkro on Saturday to outdoor the new paramount chief of the traditional area, Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu II.

In attendance were prominent chiefs from other parts of the country, dignitaries and government functionaries including ministers of state, parliamentarians and the Bonohene of Cote d' Ivoire, Nana Agyemang Adinkrah II and his retinue.

A 10-member government delegation to the ceremony led by Mr A. A. Munufie, Ghana's Ambassador to Cote d' Ivoire and Co-chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), presented drinks and two million cedis to the Traditional Council.

Mr Munufie recalled the selfless and dedicated service the late Dormaahene rendered to his people and the country as a whole and said this made him one of the great brains behind the creation of the Brong Ahafo region 40 years ago.

He said one of the legacies of the late Dormaahene Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Dr Agyemang-Badu was the atmosphere of peace, love and brotherhood among the people of Dormaa and told the people that this must be maintained since it was the pre-requisite for sustained development.

The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Donald Adabre reminded chiefs in the region that one of the criteria to measure their success include projects they would be able to bring to their people during their reign. He, therefore, called on chiefs to lead their people to plan development programmes so that they would be remembered for sacrifices and selflessness towards the development of their society.

On chieftaincy and land disputes, Mr Adabre urged the new Omanhene to evolve a mechanism to ensure that they were effectively addressed and reduced to the barest minimum.

He also spoke about the high rate of chainsaw operations and other human activities, which tended to degrade the environment and called for co-operation with the security agencies to check the practice. Mr Adabre also urged chiefs to help the security agencies to deal effectively with the upsurge of crime especially armed robbery and the use of hard drugs.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu said he would place premium on the development of education to reverse the low standards in the area.

He announced that the Traditional Council would soon launch an educational endowment fund to help needy school children. He called for co-operation from all the chiefs and people and urged them to forget incidents preceding his nomination and election, which nearly marred brotherly relations among the people.

A Palace source said a sacred ceremony would be performed at Abanpredease on Monday July 26 to hand over the Dormaa Stool to the New Omanhene.

Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang-Badu, 33,a lawyer, was installed on June seven to succeed his uncle, who died in January 1998.