Speaker urges Osu residents to unite for development

Mr Aaron Mike Oquaye, the Speaker of Parliament has urged the people of Osu to unite and support Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, the Osu Mantse to develop the community.

He said: “in unity lies strength” and without that nothing meaningful could be achieved to improve the lives of the people of Osu.

Mr Oquaye gave the advice during the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Nii Kinka Dowuona’s ascension to the throne on May 4, 2007.

Mr Oquaye said education is a tool for liberation and assured the Traditional Council of his support for the formation of an Educational Committee to establish a computer library for school children in the area.

He eulogised Nii Kinka Dowuona for his rich ideas which had helped Osu to be recognised among its peers and asked for God blessings for the Osu Mantse.

Oquaye said: “We in government sometimes wished we could support in some developments, but because of some conflicts and confusion our hands are tied.”

He called on the people to stop the litigation and channel their energies to the development of the area and also give due respect to the chief and his elders to ensure success in their endeavours.

Nii Kinka Dowuona in a welcome address thanked God for how far he had brought the community.

He said “at 10 years sometimes we forget where we started from, where we have reached and where we are going,” adding that; “immediately I was enthroned I had the signal that Osu had been in chieftaincy litigations for 60 years.”

“Today I have to thank God and the forefathers that five years after being enstooled as Osu Mantse I restored the Osu Stool to paramountcy status and within the same period I was gazetted by the National House of Chiefs in Kumasi.”

He said the Osu Traditional Council was established by the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs.

He said the government has established a Customary Land Secretariat for the Traditional Council to help curb the accusation being levelled at the chiefs.

Nii Kinka Dowuona said the Osu Mantse Community Development Initiative (OMANCODI) has been established to support the stool in its socio-economic development plan for the people.

The Osu Mantse mentioned some of the projects in the pipeline as a community bank, a multi-purpose business centre, a recreational centre and building of a Mausoleum.

He said educational standards had fallen in Osu and therefore there was the need for parents and other stakeholders to help change the situation.