This Year's Homowo Festival Restricted To "Indoor" Celebrations

The Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) has vowed to strictly enforce an 'indoor' celebration of this year's Homowo festival in all conflict prone areas in the region. People in these areas engulfed in chieftaincy disputes would have their festivities confined to the compound, the council said adding that no traditional ruler in such areas would be allowed to sprinkle the customary corn food Kpoikpoi to climax the celebration of the festival. The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, gave the directives in Accra on Tuesday, when he received the newly crowned chief fisherman of Osu Alata, Nii Djamlodjo V, and his elders to his office. Nii Armah noted that although the RCC had nothing to do with either enstooling or destooling of chiefs and could not interfere in chieftaincy matters, it would not sit unconcerned for people to cause mayhem under the disguise of the chieftaincy institution. �The government will therefore, protect life and property when any one attempts to disturb the peace,� he said. Nii Armah, who is also the Chairman of the Greater Accra Regional Security Council, assured the public that there would be adequate security during the festival to be celebrated at different periods by the various traditional areas in the region. He said the major cause of chieftaincy dispute had been disunity among some royal houses which should elect and instal the right person-as a chief and noted that until royal houses in the Ga State put their acts together, the common purpose of electing the right candidate could always be a problem. He commended the chiefs and people of Osu Alata for the peaceful manner in which they installed and outdoored the chief fisherman noting that unlike other traditional areas within the Gil State where there had been numerous disputes and their resultant violence, the people of Osu Alata had shown the way for others to emulate. Nii Armah admonished the chief fisherman and his elders to ensure cleanliness along the beach within their jurisdiction, stressing that beaches all over the world had now become hubs for business and tourism; therefore Ghana's coastal belt should also take advantage of its econo�mies of scale and be- transformed to attract investment. Nii Armah, who is also the Member of Parliament for Klotey Korle, made a personal donation of GH�1,000 to the chief fisherman to enhance his work.