Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia says the chieftaincy institutions have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that peace and security prevail in Ghana.
“I see the chieftaincy as a critical stakeholder in the governance architecture of the country,” he said.
The Vice President said this in Wa during the Dumba Festival celebration by the chiefs and people of the Wala Traditional Area.
It was on the theme: “Combating the Emerging Threat of Violent Extremism and Terrorism in Ghana: The Role of Traditional Authorities”.
The Minister of the Interior, Mr Ambrose Dery, the Member of Parliament for the Wa Central Constituency, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, and representatives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) among others were in attendance.
Dr Bawumia, also the Chairman of the Police Council, called on the Regional and District Security Councils to put in measures to improve the security situation in the Wa Municipality and the region at large.
He said as part of measures to curb the ailing security situation in the region, the Government had deployed a special purpose investigation and intelligence team and other police personnel there to beef up security.
“The government is keen on ensuring that the peace and hospitality that have always been enjoyed by the people in the Upper West Region are restored and the gap between the rural and urban areas bridged through the provision of sustainable facilities in these areas,” he said.
Dr Bawumia called for peaceful co-existence among the diverse cultures in the Upper West Region to achieve the desired development.
The Vice President said the theme for the event was apt as it sought to reiterate the critical role of the traditional authorities in national development.
He assured the Wa Naa and the people of government’s commitment to ensuring equitable development, where the Wa Municipality and the entire Upper West Region would not be left out.
He, therefore, said the request made by the Overlord of the Wala Traditional Area, Naa Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV, for the dualisation of major roads in the Wa Township, among others, would be granted in due course.
Naa Pelpuo emphasised the need to dualise the Bamahu-Airport stretch to ensure the free flow of traffic and appealed for the Wa Municipal area to be converted into a Metropolitan Assembly.
Other requests were the construction of a polyclinic at Busa and Sing and hostels for the Dr Hilla Limann Technical University.
The Wa Naa urged government to provide the Nursing Training College with a three-unit classroom block to facilitate the commencement of the Post-Basic Bachelor of Science in Critical Care Nursing this academic year.
He said the new Bachelor of Science programme had been delayed due to the unavailability of funds and inadequate classroom facilities.
The chief, however, did not mince words to commend the Government for the many development interventions implemented in the Traditional Area and expressed the hope that the new requests would be granted.
The Vice President donated GH₵20,000.00 in support of the festival, former President John Dramani Mahama also gave GH₵10,000.00, while the regional branch of the NDC donated GH₵5,000.00 for the celebration.