Chief of Tema urges President Akufo-Addo to select indigene as mayor

pulse-ghana admin

April 23, 2017 7:32 PM

He said if the president did not heed to the call and imposed a non-indigene on his people…that would seriously offend their sensibilities.

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The Paramount Chief of the Tema Traditional Area, Nii Adjei Kraku has called on President Nana Akufo-Addo to nominate a native of the city to the position of Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE).

According to the Tema Mantse, his call is a reflection of demands made to him by his subjects about who they think should be at the helm of affairs in Ghana’s industrial city.

“My people have come out boldly to tell me that they want their own flesh and blood to lead the development drive of the area and I fully support them. Their demand is not an emotional one but a logical one backed by history,” he said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

He said if the president did not heed to the call and imposed “a non-indigene on his people…that would seriously offend their sensibilities”, the GNA reports.

“We know for a fact that in spite of the many maritime, industrial and service establishments around us, we are trapped in the quicksand of poverty, illiteracy and disease. Tema has its own peculiar problems, traditions, culture, hopes and aspirations which can only be fully appreciated by an indigene,” he said.

According to Nii Adjei Kraku, “the fact that Tema is cosmopolitan and heavily industrialised and inhabited by people from all the ethnic groups of Ghana, does not make it a no-man’s land. Tema has an overlord, indigenes, traditions and culture. Any resident anywhere can willingly associate with the customs, hopes and aspirations of his host but for an indigene is it an obligation and honour.”

Analysis

In times past, traditional authorities have been criticised for making similar demands and for limiting the government’s ability to elect competent people to lead a developmental agenda.

Although chiefs in Ghana have no constitutional powers, they wield enormous respect in the society.

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