A Citizen of the Upper East Region and a communication team member of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) Johnson Ayine has shared an interesting view about his observation on issues bedeviling the roles of chiefs in the region.
Johnson Ayine made these submissions on Apexnewsgh.com’s newly introduced development programme dubbed “SPEAKOUT UPPER EAST” on September 7, 2022.
Responding to the question on the role of chiefs in our regional development, Johnson said, in the Upper East Region everybody is sitting at his palace looking big.
He said, even though they have Regional House of Chiefs President, to him, is just by name. Just officially to attend meeting brief and go. If you are House Chief President, you don’t have any controlling power over any of the chiefs. So, that is the problem.
“I don’t know why God has made this region like Asisaawa (cloth of many colours) and the echoism is not helping us. Why is it that a whole region we don’t have one traditional leader that has a command? Let me tell you, in the next 5, 10 years, the North East Region, the Savanna Region will be far better than us mark it down. Because our chiefs thinks that, I am not paying homage to you, you don’t have power over me, I am this, I am that. Everybody is sitting at his place looking big {sorry to say this} they have a regional house of chiefs president to me, is just by name. Just officially to attend meeting brief and go. If you are House Chief President, you don’t have any controlling power over any of the chiefs. So, that is the problem”. He stressed
“In this region, chiefs are also respected in their various communities based on the level of their wealth or stature in the society. We don’t respect our chiefs just because they are chiefs. There is a saying that, even if they put a dwarf as a chief in your community, you ought to respect that dwarf. But here, immediately they drive a car to their house and their house is better than the chief house, the person becomes the Chief. They want to have command over the chief, the chief will say this and the person will also give his own instruction. So, the chief will not have control”.
“We normally want to compare ourselves with Asante Region and I have said it a long time, there is no 100 percent democracy in the Ashanti region and that is why there is a little bit of discipline in the Asante region”.
“What happened to the media house in the Ashanti Region, in the upper east here it can’t happen. But in that area, they value the king of the Asante more than the president. So, the king has control and the sub-chief have control, the king is the apex leader of that region. In Upper East, we don’t have that apex body”.
“As we speak Dagbon is progressing, they have a chief, the Yaana is there and when Yaana addresses his people everybody will hear. So, there is a command”.
“Remember, they were some issues between the ECG, Police, and Yaana intervened and a whole IGP had to send Director General of CID and he himself had to visit and they have to go and apologize to him.
In upper East here, if Tongraan or Bonaaba or any of the chiefs have done that, we would have insulted the chief”.
“And those in Authority respected him, they accorded him that respect as a leader. So, it tells you that the IGP that moved to his house to plead on behalf of his people today, if they are doing recruitment and Yaana called the IGP and say I have 2 or 3 people, won’t he listen to him and pick them? There is a blessing in disguise, which granted an opportunity for them”.
“Today, any head of Department in the Northern Region is answerable to Yaana. The Head of Department in the Upper East Region including political heads is not answerable to any of our chiefs. One day, let Tongraan say, the regional minister has misbehaved I want to do him this, you may see some chiefs saying Tongraan do not have that power to anything because the regional minister is for the whole Upper East Region not only Tongo”.
“The North East Region as we speak, the Nayiri is there controlling and that is the apex body. If the regional minister is misbehaving, Nayiri can cause his firing today, Upper East the regional minister can misbehave no chief can cause his firing. So, that is indiscipline”. He said
Source: Apexnewsgh.com
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