Principal Elders Council of James Town inaugurated

An 11-member Council of James Town Ngleshie Alata Traditional Area in Accra has been inaugurated to manage of the assets of the ancient coastal community.

The council is chaired by Nii Kweikuma IV, Chief of Anumansa Division of James Town and Principal Elder of Ajumanko Dawurampong Royal Family.

Other members of the Council are Nii Sackey Akumea; Vice Chairman, Head of Hanson Family, James Town, Nii Hanson; Treasurer, Chief of Plerno Division, James Town, Nii Ardenkpa VII; Assistant Treasurer, Daniel Nii Arde Tagoe; Secretary and Nii Odarlai Bruce, Assistant Secretary.

The rest are: the Senior High Priest of Anumansa Division and James Town, Numo Bordai III, Head of Trome Family of James Town, Mr Charles Heward Mills, Stool Father of James Town, Nii Appiah V, a Kingmaker of James Town, Nii Sampa Kojo and the Senior High Priestess of Anumansa Division of James Town, Banafo Baakan.

The move by the Principal Elders of James Town comes exactly a month after securing an interlocutory injunction from the High Court to restrain their Paramount Chief, Nii Kojo Ababio V, and his agents, workmen and representatives from “alienating or disposing of land of James Town Stool.”

The task of Principal Elders Council is to study the expectations of oversea members of the James Town Stool as well as the role that the people of the ancient coastal community could play in the economic, social and technological advancement of the area.

It is also expected to examine the current traditional, cultural and administrative machinery that governs the people and bridge the developmental gap that is apparent in the customary functionaries of the James Town Stool.

This would lead to the making of recommendations on measures to adopt to resolve the problems faced by the James Town Traditional Area and more importantly, the Ngleshie Alata Stool.

Nii Kweikuma told journalists at the inauguration ceremony last Thursday that the intervention was meant to put things in the proper order to arrest the slow pace of development.

This, he said would end poverty, ignorance, and inequality and provide fair opportunities for all.

“We end today, a period of ill future and James Town will discover her lost paradise once again. The achievement we celebrate today is just a step, an opening of opportunity to greater achievements that awaits us. Freedom and power brings responsibility”, he said.

He said for the past 35 years, the people of James Town had suffered injustice, adding that living standards of the people of are nothing to write home about due to lack of developmental projects.

He said it was worrying that the behaviour of some leading royal had compelled some of the James Town villages to detach their allegiance to the stool for failing to support and defend their rights within the area.

Royals and distinguished personalities of James Town, according to Nii Kweikuma IV, have over the years been denied access to the Royal Mausoleum.

What was more worrying, Nii Kweikuma argued, was the sale of stool properties of which the proceeds ends up in a private bank account to the detriment of the community.

The Chairman of the Principal Elders’ Council said they had no option than to seek for redress in court.

He said with the Council now in place, the immediate responsibility of members is the organisation of the major final funeral right of their deceased chiefs and principal elders, which has been ignored by the occupant of the Stool since 1978.

Additionally, they would convert the Plaza Cinema to James Town Community Centre, construct a modern night market, construct a well equipped modern abattoir with cold storage facilities, a library, a clinic, a nursery, kindergarten and a primary school for the people.

Members would also construct a modern and well equipped public place of convenience, recreational centres, research library and rehabilitate the harbour landing beach.