The Paramount Chief of the Nandom Traditional Area in the Upper West Region, Naa Professor Edmund Nwinyem Delle Chiir VIII, is rallying support from natives outside the traditional area for development.
As a start, he is in the Greater Accra Region, as part of a tour in the southern sector of the country, to meet with his sub-chiefs and other elders from the traditional area who are based in Accra to dialogue with them and, together, strategise the way forward for the development of the area.
Naa Prof. Chiir VIII said the world over, all developments in various areas were not championed by the people living in those areas, but by those in the diaspora, who might have learnt some innovative ideas to help develop the area.
Knowledge sharing
“So, I thought about it and, with Accra being the biggest city, where we have a number of our sons and daughters, I came here to meet with all the sub-chiefs under one roof for us to put our heads together to see what we can do for the area,” he explained.
Naa Prof. Chiir VIII expressed concern that even though the area could boast of a number of intellectuals, “there is very little to show on the ground”.
“So, I want to stimulate this discussion, to see what we can do to develop the area,” he explained, adding that there were a number of developmental challenges in the area and it was only knowledge sharing and sacrifices that could spur development in the area.
The Paramount Chief called for a united front to pull resources together to push for the development of Nandom, explaining that the current state of Nandom did not benefit it as a place that had produced prominent people, including two cardinals and two Chiefs of Naval Staff of the Ghana Armed Forces.
“Nandom is a unique town and I am very proud to be alive to witness the town produce the two cardinals and Rear Admirals, with Rear Admiral Godwin Livinus Bessing as the current Chief of Naval Staff,” Naa Prof Chiir VIII said.
Strategic development plan
For his part, the Member of Parliament for the Nandom Constituency, Richard Kuuire, acknowledged the challenges confronting the area but pleaded with the people to exercise patience as the government worked to address them.
He said the Nandom District Assembly had a comprehensive strategic development plan, which was developed about four years ago, awaiting implementation, and appealed to citizens of the area to put aside partisan politics for the sake of development.
Mr Kuuire explained that with the overwhelming endorsement of the President’s nominee as the District Chief Executive, all such documents would be revisited and synchronised as a blueprint for the area.
Big Push
He revealed that the government had plans for the district, saying, for instance, that according to the NDC manifesto, the government was to use the Big Push as promised to construct the road from Techiman through to Hamile using different lots, which would cover the Nandom District.
He also announced that the government had plans to construct the Kaa Baa River, which had been a major headache for the district over decades and was hopeful that when completed, most of the youth, who often travelled down south during the dry season, would stay back to engage in vegetable cultivation.
Unite for development
Rear Admiral Bessing, in a message, was grateful to God for lifting him to his current position and also thanked the Paramount Chief for his good intentions for the traditional area.
He also advised citizens in the area to put aside all forms of divisions as a result of partisan politics and unite to realise the overall development of the area.
The Naval Chief reminded the sub-chiefs that the development of the Nandom traditional area was not the sole responsibility of the Paramount Chief or the MP of Nandom, but a collective responsibility of all, urging natives with links outside and high places to use those contacts to bring development to the area.