After four years of being without an Adontenhene, one of the most important traditional authorities, the people of the Ajumako traditional area in the Central Region have installed a chief at a peaceful and colourful ceremony over the weekend.
Unlike other enstoolments which are normally marked by violent protests necessitating heavy security presence, Mr. John Kwame Amoah, a businessman, was peacefully installed as the Adontenhene of Ajumako traditional area and Odikro of Ajumako Beseasi, under the stool name of Okofo Kwakora Gyan III.
The event was witnessed by high profile dignitaries from the region, including the Central Regional Minister, Isaac Edumadze, and the District Chief Executive of the area.
The ceremony that began at about 9:00 am, with a parade through the principal streets of the town with the chief in a palanquin, brought every activity in the area to a halt.
Hours before the chief swore his oath of allegiance to the Adonteng Mankrado at the market square, men, women and children dressed in yellow T-shirts with the portrait of their newly installed chief besieged the venue with every body wanting to get a look at the chief.
In his inaugural address, Nana Gyan III made an urgent appeal to the government to send a high-powered delegation to the area to assess the plight of farmers there.
"We will also appeal to the Hon. Minister and Member of Parliament himself to link us up with NGOs and donor agencies, among others, to assist this community in our development efforts." He said: "If this is done the picture you see today of Beseasi would change for the better, God willing."
Beseasi is a town with a population of over 27,000 with 70 per cent being peasant farmers. The town is currently in need of cash or kind to complete the ongoing community library complex project.
The Community Library Complex, when completed, is expected to facilitate research to advance the cause of education in the area.
Another major area of urgent need is health. It is reported that people die in scores for lack of adequate health facilities in the town and its surrounding villages.
The community has one health centre, which it intends converting into a modern hospital.
Due to the absence of facilities at the centre, the most critically ill patients are often rushed to the Catholic Hospital at Breman Asikuma or Saltpond, bigger towns within the region.
Sadly though, some patients are reported dead within distances of about 12 miles away from their destination.
To this end Nana Gyan appealed to the government to expedite action on the ongoing hospital project to save the alarming situation.
Meanwhile, Chronicle learnt independently that the absence of a substantive chief over the past years had contributed to the woes of the town. It is hoped that with the enstoolment of Nana Gyan III, the leadership vacuum has been filled for speedy development.
