In our yesterday’s edition, we reported that paramount chiefs who constitute the Western Regional House of Chiefs (WRHC) have decided to smoke the peace pipe to bring to an end, the three and half years of protracted dispute that has plagued the House. The development has led to the appointment of President and his Vice, albeit in acting positions to steer affairs of the House.
Awulae Amihere Kpanyile III, Omanhene of Eastern Nzema is now the Acting President and Awulae Angamatuo Gyan II, Omanhene of Gwira is the acting vice president. Nana Kwesi Agyemang, Omanhene of Lower Dixcove, Obrempon Hima Dekyi, Omanhene of Upper Dixcove and Tetretteh Okuamoah Sekyim, Omanhene of Wassa Akropong and the acting president, are representing the House at the National House of chiefs (NHC).
The chiefs reached the agreement at a meeting reportedly attended by the regional Minister, Kwabena Okyere Darko Mensah and his Chief Director, Fred Agyemang. The decision to choose the acting President and Vice, according to the story, was to satisfy both camps in the House.
The Chronicle is aware that following the controversy over the disputed election of the President and his Vice in October 2020, the House has been divided along two camps. We, therefore, applaud the decision to appoint both the president and his vice from both factions.
We are also aware that following a series of court and counter court actions over the 2020 disputed elections, the House has failed to sit and deliberate on issues of interest and development.
We are being told for instance that there are backlog of chieftaincy cases that have not been settled because the judicial committee is unable to sit due to the dispute over who should be president of the house. The House has, apart from representation at the National House of Chiefs, also failed to nominate a representative to both Police and the Prison Councils as mandated by law.
These are the major challenges thwarting effective administration of justice in the region. It is upon the basis of this that The Chronicle is happy that at least, the first step had been taken to resolve all the misunderstandings in the house.
It is the hope of The Chronicle that the peace initiative will be sustained and not discarded at the last hour. We are saying this because somewhere last year, the chief Executive Officer of LABIANCA, Nana Akwanzi Abroba, who is a chief, brokered a similar peace deal amongst the warring factions, but the combatants later discarded it, which further divided the House.
We also remember how the former Chieftaincy Minister, Ebenezer Kojo Kum, came up with a roadmap to end the dispute, but that also did not work. We do not, however, want to sound pessimistic, but hopeful that a lasting peace has, indeed, come to the House.
