National House of Chiefs to hold African Traditional Leaders confab next year

Togbe Afede IV, Agbogbomefia of Asogli State and President of the National House of Chiefs has announced that his outfit in consultation with related institutions will hold an African Traditional Leaders Conference next year in Accra.

He said the National House has set in motion preparatory work and consulting with foreign Embassies in Ghana the opportunity to harness the developmental strength of the traditional authorities for accelerated development.

Togbe Afede made this announcements at the First General Meeting of the Volta Region House of Chiefs in Ho saying he was inspired by the racists’ taunts that resulted in the savage death of black people in the United States, in recent time, under the tagline ‘’BlackLivesMatters,’’which received global condemnation about how blacks were being inhumanely treated and killed by people paid to protect them.

He said the ultimate desire was the formation of a permanent continental body responsible for coordinating chieftaincy institutions that would complement Africa’s governments on harnessing both human and material resources to better the lots for the masses.

He said five Embassies had already shown enthusiasm out of the 20 earmarked for consultation and upbeat about the first conference.

The Agbogbomefia believed the initiative would give a new birth, bring Africa closer culturally and demolish all artificial borders and boundaries that separated the people.

On activities of the National House, he said the draft Chieftaincy Instrument before Parliament is expected to be passed by August to give impetus to defining the composition of the new Houses of Chiefs and how they would function.

“We expect the first meeting when the instrument is passed to open avenues for fresh elections at the regional and national levels.”

Togbe Afede said the National House would now be expanded to an 80-member body with the Volta membership increasing to about 100 and Oti region with 26 Paramount chiefs.

He said its Legislative Instrument 2207, seeking to empower the Institution with the power of summons at all levels would be restored as conversations between the Attorney-General’s office was receiving attention with allocations of funds to its judiciary committees being approved.

Osie Adja Tekpor VII, Paramount Chief of Avatime Traditional Area, contributing to the subject said the initiative was spot-on and elevated Chiefs a notch-higher beyond their present standing and believed‘’It was the way to go."

He said for far too long, "we have allowed politicians to chart the pace for development as chieftaincy as an institution has a wider constituency than governments."

Osie Adja Tekpor suggested the first conference should be hosted by the Volta region, to showcase diversity and the deep-seated culture of the people of the region to the Continent.