Help settle Buem chieftaicy disputes--MP

Jasikan, Aug. 28, GNA - Mr. Henry Ford Kamel, Member of Parliament for the Buem constituency in the Volta Region on Saturday appealed to the Volta Regional Minister to help settle the chieftaincy disputes in the Buem traditional area.

He said the chieftaincy disputes between some chiefs and the Paramount chief was affecting the development of the area. Mr Kamel made the appeal at the Buem Congress 2005 Durbar organized by the Coalition For Peace and Development at Jasikan under the theme: Buem Rediscovery: The Role of Education and Culture.

" Some of the divisional chiefs have taken entrench positions; this is affecting our human resource and structural development." he remarked Mr. Kamel therefore, urged the Regional Minister to leave no stone unturned to help settle the disputes, which have retarded progress of development in the area.

He expressed concern about the poor standard of education and the poor performance of students and pupils in the BECE and SSCE and called on the district Assembly and other stakeholders to give education the necessary attention to enable the district to have better human resource base for development.

" I suggest that we establish an Education Endowment Fund to assist poor but brilliant students," he said. The MP expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of contractors working on projects in the district and called on the Minister to call them to book.

Mr Samuel Kofi Dzamesi, Regional Minister called on Buem Chiefs to bury their differences in other to enhance unity among their citizens. He promised to contact the Judicial Committee of the Regional House of Chiefs to settle the dispute for peace and progress to prevail in the traditional area.

Mr. Dzamesi said the theme chosen for the congress was appropriate at this time when the government was trying to enhance education and socio-cultural wellbeing of all Ghanaians. He was happy that the congress had agreed to focus on education and culture to foster development of Buem.

The Regional Minister said the government has, over the five years, undertaken a number of socio-economic projects aimed at improving the lives of the people of Buem and the Jasikan District at large, adding, " these projects span education, health, water sanitation and economic developments under the Presidents Special Initiatives."

Mr Dzamesi announced that the Bueman Secondary School was undergoing a major face-lift to upgrade it to be a model secondary school status at the cost of 16 billion cedis.

He mentioned the provision of classroom block for Ketsi, Nkwanta, Kludje Bodada, Dzolu and Old Baika and the provision of 33 colour television sets and DVD/VCD/CD decks for some selected schools in the area to enable them to access distance learning by television. The Regional minister said the government was doing all it could to rehabilitate major and feeder roads in the area, adding that he would not hesitate to discipline contractors who do shoddy jobs.

He commended the people of Jasikan for embracing the National Health Insurance Scheme and urged those who have not registered to do so.

Nana Yaw Osei Brantuo V, of Jasikan and the Adontehene of Buem commended the government for a number of development projects springing up in the area but expressed concern over the lukewarm attitude of the contractor working on the Jasikan -Bodada - Baika road. He called on the government to support the technical based second cycle institutions when the policy of Technical Vocational and Training (TVET) becomes operational.

" The Okadjakrom Secondary /Technical, Baglo /Secondary Technical and the Father Dogli Memorial Trade schools need support, we call on the government, individuals and NGOs to come to our aid," he said. Nana Brantuo called on Scancom Ghana Limited to upgrade telephone facilities to enable the district to get efficient service.

In a welcoming address, the President of the Coalition for Peace and Development, Mr Isaka Buraima, said the Coalition was seriously concerned about the falling standard of education in the Jasikan district leading to dismal performance of pupils and students in the first and second cycle schools. He said the poor road and communication networks and the chieftaincy disputes in the area had also received the attention of the Coalition.

Mr Buraima believed that since culture and education promote tolerance, flexibility and cooperation, culture in Buem would be revived and developed to halt it from collapse. A fund-raising event yielded an amount of 26 million cedis. 28 08 05