<<Print>>

Mr Alfred Ekwow Gyan, Deputy Western Regional Minister, has called on chiefs to manage lands under their disposal judiciously for future generation to benefit from the dividends of the investment. �I will earnestly implore you to get the best out of any transaction on land leases,� he stressed. The Deputy Minister made the call when he addressed the end of year general meeting of the Regional House of Chiefs in Sekondi. The meeting enabled the traditional authorities to take stock and assess their performance for the year and map out strategies for the way forward. He noted that the oil exploration in the region has attracted investors who have intensified their clamour for land for development and this requires the chiefs to manage the property properly by using it as equity for posterity to benefit. He underscored the need for the chiefs to highlight the importance of the preservation of the nation�s cultural heritage at durbars and other gatherings in an effort to curb moral degeneration that has veered into the social fabric. Touching on governance, Mr Gyan noted that traditional rulers occupy an important position in the administration of the country because development by any government cannot be attained without land which is released by them. It is therefore incumbent on them as partners in development to release land for development and also use their initiatives to mobilise the people for projects while co-operating with the assemblies in development efforts to meet the aspirations of the people. The Deputy Regional Minister noted that the global economic downturn is having adverse effects on the economies of all countries especially the developing nations, therefore the situation is not peculiar to Ghana. He said government is addressing the challenges, adding: �It is my plea that all of us will put our hands to the wheel so as to pursue government agenda that seek to improve the living conditions of the people.� He said government takes serious view of challenges such as illegal mining activities, limited unskilled personnel and the deplorable road network in the region and is seriously tackling them. The chiefs expressed their displeasure that government is not releasing funds for them to run their administration.