The chiefs and people of the Effutu Traditional Area have resolved to protect their forest reserves at every cost from encroachers.
Their forest reserves have been designated as Ramsar sites for ecological purposes and serve as hunting grounds for their sacrificial bushbuck for the annual Aboakyer festival.
However, Neenyi Ghartey VII, Paramount Chief of the Effutu Traditional Area, said the sites had been subjected to intense pressure from residential developers and cattle herdsmen against all cautions and resistance by the chiefs.
Alluding to the dire impact of climate change across the world in recent times, he insisted that the area was not reserved for human habitation and warned the encroachers to stay away.
Neenyi Ghartey was speaking during a grand durbar to climax the Aboakyer Festival of the chiefs and people of Winneba.
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Held on the theme: “Your Participation Makes a Difference for Development,” the festival offered a euphoric atmosphere of singing, dancing, and friendly traditional and contemporary competitions with impressive youth participation.
“The reason that our fisherfolks do not go to sea on Tuesdays for example, has some explanation which relates to sustainable fishing. There is also a reason some places are reserved for purposes other than human habitation,” Neenyi Ghartey stated.
“We are in this difficult situation because the State agencies do not see our problem the way we see it. The fight has been exclusive except for the support from the Wildlife Department,” he lamented.
He, was, however, confident that with resolute firmness on the matter, they would win the battle and the natural heritage for posterity.
Neenyi Ghartey noted in his address that a planned tree planting exercise scheduled as part of the celebrations could not be held because cattle herdsmen had allowed their cattle to overgraze and rendered parts of the hunting grounds bare. The herdsmen had refused to move out of the land even after several prompting from the Traditional Council.
On other issues of development, the Paramount Chief appealed for a modern market to boost economic activities and promote hygienic practices.
He observed that their market was in a deplorable state because foodstuffs were sold on the ground while surrounding streets were blocked on market days.
He also called on individuals and institutions to help develop their community centre, which they share with the community basic school, into a well-grassed pitch with a permanent dais to serve both the school and the community.
Neenyi Ghartey further appealed to the Government to expedite the completion and commissioning of a fish landing facility in the community to curb the age-long unhygienic handling of landed fish.
He later thanked the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for appointing him as the Chancellor of the University of Education, Winneba and pledged to do everything in his power to raise the standard of the university to make it the best tertiary institution in Ghana.
The Paramount Chief also urged all members of the society to play their role in the quest for development, adding that “Winneba shall be strong and that depends on our unity and love for one another.”
