MP pays tribute to late Omanhene

Accra (Greater Accra) 26 May '99

A tribute to the memory of the late Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua the Fourth, Omanhene of Akyem Kotoku Traditional Area was the subject matter of a statement in Parliament on Tuesday by Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, member for Akyem Oda .

Mr Osafo-Maafo described Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua as a statesman, who abhorred the theory of ''winner takes all'', saying that the various acts and diplomatic moves by the late Omanhene in the first ten years of his rule, showed clearly that he was a man of peace and diplomacy.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua systematically devised ways and means to reconcile himself with all the chiefs and people, who openly opposed him during a protracted litigation.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua is said to have gone further ahead to promote some of the sub-chiefs who opposed his installation.

Mr Osafo-Maafo said the late Omanhene was elected four consecutive times to serve at the National House of Chiefs, where he served on a number of committees, including Finance and Staff, Stool and Skin Lands and the Judicial committees, between 1982 and 1992.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua would go down in history as a man of deep conviction and courage, who could not be easily swayed by parochial interests, he said.

"Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua was certainly a man of peace and highly principled. Patience, tact and humour were his distinguishing attributes", Mr Osafo-Maafo said of the late Omanhene.

Okofrobuor Agyeman Attafua was buried about a month ago.

Two other statements were made, one on a fire outbreak at the residence of Mr Francis Adu-Poku, Member for Asunafo South at Manetville, East Airport in Accra on Monday and the other in commemoration of this year's "Africa Day" celebration which falls on Tuesday May 25.

Mr Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, who made a statement on the fire outbreak, told the House that he was in his house around 18:30 hours when one of the workers rushed in to inform him that one of the MPs' houses was on fire.

He said he rushed to the scene only to find that the block occupied by Mr Adu-Poku was burning fiercely, adding that the fire was so fierce that, "We could only stand there and wail but helpless to do anything to put out the fire".

"It was a real nightmare. There was no telephone in the area to contact the Ghana National Fire Service".

Mr Kedem said while they sent for the firemen, "those of us whose houses were not yet affected by the fire, decided to retrieve as much of our property as possible".

Fortunately, the fire tenders arrived and extinguished the fire after a long fight but not until Mr Adu-Poku's house was completely burnt down.

"I am sad to inform the House that the Honourable Member lost almost all his property. In fact had it not been for timely intervention of the firemen, I am sure the majority of the 25 MP's houses at Manetville would have been destroyed by the fire".

Mr Kedem told the House that the statement was primarily to inform members about the tragedy, which befell Mr Adu-Poku and also to draw their attention to the problems faced by MPs, who have been moved to Manetville, which he described as " a frontier-like settlement".

He said the houses have not been insured and very little security is provided at the place.

The estate, he said, is situated at the confluence of two big gutters and the drainage is very poor and called for prompt action to be taken to avert possible flooding in future.

He said to add to the plight of the residents, there is no pipe-borne water and currently, water is supplied by tanker service.

Members, who contributed to the statement, were of the view that MPs should be provided with decent accommodation befitting their status.

They said the statement has brought to the fore the plight of the MPs adding that the Sakumono Estates face similar problems.

One member said the statement has raised a number of fundamental problems associated with real estate development.

He said some real estate developers put up houses without providing utilities such as water and electricity until people occupy the houses.

On the Africa Day celebration, Mr Kwakye Addo, Member for Afram Plains South, said the wide-range factors uniting the peoples of Africa geographical, historical and cultural make them fully aware of their common destiny and the need to work together for their own emancipation and social and economic development.

He said the awareness created an impetus for solidarity among the peoples on the continent, which was practically demonstrated in the common struggle against colonialism and for independence as well as for unity through the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on May 25, 1963.

On May 25, 1988, the African Council of Ministers decided that the day should be observed in all member states as "Africa Day".

Mr Kwakye Addo said it was recommended that on that day educational institutions across Africa should devote the first lesson of the day to OAU affairs.

On Africa Day, the member states observe the historic signing of the Charter of the OAU at the "Africa Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by 31 Heads of State and government, including Ghana's first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.

The theme for this year's celebration is "Africa, equipping itself for the new millennium". He said the theme falls in line with that of the just-ended "Fifth African-African American Summit in Accra.

Mr Kwakye Addo said the summit went down as one of the biggest gathering of Blacks on the continent and those in the Diaspora that this century has witnessed.

The country could count on the successful Summit, which took concrete decisions to change the fortunes of Blacks, wherever, "we may be in the next century", he said.

Contributing to the statement, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyemang, noted that the OAU was born with hopes of lifting the continent from the doldrums but said the Organisation, bogged down by lack of enthusiasm and sectional interest, has undermine the effectiveness of the continental body.

The OAU should be given "more teeth to bite", he said, adding that the organisation's long dream of integrating the economies has been thwarted by the selfishness of some member countries.

Most African countries place emphasis on the acquisition of arms at the expense of agriculture, he stated.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman, who is the Minority Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, noted that Africa has become the home of the greatest number of refugees, a situation, which, he said, does not augur well for the continent.

"We should be able to stand on our own and stop being the beggar continent of the world".

Mr Owusu-Agyeman said member countries should be encouraged to put their acts together and avoid the abuse of human rights.