Minister refurbishes House of Chiefs building

The Upper East Regional Minister, Madam Paulina Patience Abayage, has presented a refurbished structure to members of the Upper East Region House of Chiefs to enable them deliberate on issues in comfort.

The structure, which was built several years ago, had not seen any major renovation works as it was hitherto characterised by some broken louvre blades, malfunctioning ceiling fans without air conditioners, while the paintings on the walls and ceilings peeled off.

Madam Abayage who presented the refurbished facility and a public address system to the Chiefs at a brief ceremony, recalled that Chiefs of the Region appealed to her for air conditioners to be fixed in the main hall of the House and said she found it long overdue that the House of Chiefs was in deplorable state.

She could not comprehend why Chiefs who were the custodians of tradition and rulers of traditional areas had over the years deliberated on Chieftaincy issues in the hitherto deplorable House. “I thought that if there is any one thing that I should do, it is to as quickly as possible rally the needed support to get the air conditioners fixed in this room.”

The Minister said the refurbished house would offer the Chiefs comfort as they sit to deliberate and afford them the needed privacy, because without the air conditioners, they were forced to open the louvres and members of the public could see them deliberating and possibly eaves dropping their deliberations.

She said even though more work needed to be done in the House, it would be done in bits to ensure that the Chiefs relaxed and held their meetings in comfort. “It is my promise to this House that this place would be made as comfortable as possible for you to have your deliberations.”

“I have visited Regional Houses of Chiefs, and if you visit some of them, you will feel embarrassed to be a son or daughter of this Region, considering what we have as a Regional House of Chiefs,” she said.

Bonaba Baba Salifu Atamale Aleemyarum, the Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional Area, and Vice President of the Upper East Regional House of Chiefs, said “you would all agree with me that the Upper East Region is the warmest Region in Ghana and for you to offer this kind of support to the House indicates your feel for us.”

The Chief said members of the House used to struggle for comfort during their meetings because of the heat in the hall, and added that the air conditioners and the public address system had indeed come at the right time.

“This clearly demonstrates your commitment to supporting the Chieftaincy institution. On behalf of the Chiefs and Queen mothers in the Region, I wish to extend our appreciation to you for this and many more of these gestures to come.”

Bonaba Aleemyarum appealed to the Minister to at least assist Paramount Chiefs in the Region to undergo training programmes on Chieftaincy dispute prevention, land administration among others organised by the University for Professional Studies at the Otumfuo Centre for Traditional Leadership. He said the programme was organised for Chiefs to help in Chieftaincy conflict prevention and litigation free land administration.