The management of Ghana National Gas Company (Ghana Gas) appears to have opened a Pandora box that may, most likely, trigger a plethora of proposals and requests from other Paramountcies, most especially those from the Western Region, following a decision by the Gas company to chart what could best be described as a new core mandate.
The gas company, apart from its core mandate, now supports the building of palaces for paramountcies.
This is evident in the company’s decision to support the construction of a refurbished one-storey palace for the Chief and people of Lower Town Axim and Nsein Traditional Area.
The gas company supported the construction of the refurbished palace with 70% of the total cost which was inaugurated on Saturday, 23rd September 2023, to mark the annual Kundum Festival of the Chief and people of Lower Town Axim and Nsein Traditional Area.
Speaking to the media, Safo Hayford, Manager for Community Social Responsibility (CSR) for Ghana Gas, who represented the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company at the programme, in an answer to this reporter’s question as to whether or not supporting chiefs to build palaces was a new area the gas company was now venturing into, responded: “It’s not a new area, and we do support chiefs to build palaces as in other traditional areas when they bring proposals. We do needs assessment and see how it fits into our values.”
According to him, Ghana Gas does not build palaces, but rather supports paramount chiefs to build palaces, as was in the case of Nsein Traditional Area.
At Ghana Gas, Safo Hayford explained in the interview that “we are not permitted to construct palaces for chiefs, but what we do is we support. So Awulae approached the CEO for the renovation of the palace; CEO sent a team to do needs assessment.”
According to him, when the Needs Assessment Team, including himself, arrived, the foundation of the refurbished palace had already been constructed, so the company decided to support based on the Needs Assessment Team report.
He said, per company’s CSR Policy, “we support the construction of palace; we support construction of anything being done, especially within communities in our catchment areas.”
He said one reason the Needs Assessment Team decided in okaying and supporting the construction of the refurbished palace was the museums and artifacts in the palace.
That, he explained, fell within the core values of the company to help preserve the culture and heritage of the people.
Those museum artifacts, the Ghana Gas CSR Manger explained, served as the history of the people of Nzema, and they were proud to associate with it.
Do you agree this may open the Pandora Box for other chiefs to bring in proposals, asked this reporter, to which the CSR Manager agreed, but was quick to add that it would be dependent on the needs assessment done by the team from Ghana Gas. “In other words, it’s not certain that when one brings in proposals, the proposal would be okayed.”
Addressing the durbar, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II thanked Ghana Gas for the support he received in refurbishing the palace, and disclosed that, 70% of the cost of the refurbished palace was borne by the gas company. That made it easy for the palace to be refurbished in less than two years.
Awulae Agyefi Kwame, however, addressing the durbar of chiefs, observed that as chiefs endeavour to uphold the customs and traditional heritage of their ancestors, they had been perceived to be worshipping idols.
“Do not think as chiefs upholds traditions and culture that make us evils. No!”
He conceded there were outmoded customs that needed to be shown the exit but not to the extent of labelling chiefs as idol worshipers.
The Regional Minister, on his part, appealed to the Regional House of Chiefs to expedite action on the numerous chieftaincy cases currently before it.
