The Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has inaugurated the Dzodze Traditional Council in the Ketu North Municipality of the Volta Region after it was awarded a council status.
Nineteen traditional rulers were sworn in as foundation members of the Council with Torgbuiga Dzoku V, Paramount Chief of Dzodze, as the President.
Among the members sworn in were five queen mothers, which also saw a traditional council building being commissioned.
Mr Nelson Awuku, the Magistrate of Dzodze, administered the oaths of office and secrecy amidst heavy musketry and jubilation by the hundreds of people that filled the venue.
Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, the sector minister, whose speech was read by Mr Evans Selorm Habada, the Director, Human Resource Management, said the traditional council status held roots in the Chieftaincy Act.
That was to ensure decentralisation of the traditional leadership to enhance local administration and the socio-economic development of the localities.
He said President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo prioritised the growth of the traditional institution and, therefore, called for unity in elevating the councils and securing development for all.
Mr Asamoah Boateng said the Council should focus on addressing chieftaincy disputes in the traditional area for enhanced integration and development.
Traditional rulers were required to take on new roles in a changing the world for the better, and that the Government would provide the needed backing, he said.
“Currently, chiefs are required to lead in the war against environmental degradation, poverty reduction among others aimed at achieving some level of development at the local and national levels,” Mr Asamoah Boateng said.
“The new role of chiefs imposes the need for some form of adaptation or revision and training to enable him/her to fulfil his or her responsibilities.”
The Dzodze Traditional Council is among five inaugurated in the Region;
(Ave Xevi, Anyako, Weta, and Awate traditional councils),
to which the Minister assured of providing staff and logistics, including training, to enable them to function effectively.
Torgbuiga Dzoku, on his part, said the inauguration rewarded the efforts of all members of the Dzodze Community, and called for unity to ensure development.
“For over 100 years our beloved Dzodze was without a traditional council.
This has affected the development of the traditional area in diverse ways we all know about,” he said.
“Our gathering here today has become history, as our togetherness and struggle for the traditional council has been achieved.
We are all witnessing the inaugural ceremony with joy today. I wish to thank all the citizenry who worked tirelessly, directly or indirectly, towards the celebration of today’s history.”
“Opinion leaders, men, women, youth and all those who have the growth and development of Dzodze at heart, must come onboard for us to work together as one people with a common goal of developing Dzodze Traditional Area,” he said.
He called on the Government to consider the state of roads in the border transit corridor to speed up growth and development of the enclave and the region in general.
Mr Harry Attipoe, Registrar, Volta Regional House of Chiefs, said through the efforts of the Ministry, the region, which had the highest number of paramountcies, continued to record an increase in traditional councils.
He advised traditional authorities to invest in the promotion of the councils and said the Regional House of Chiefs would work to ensure prompt assistance in organising and establishing the various structures of administration.
The Ave Xevi Traditional Council in the Akatsi North District was earlier inaugurated. Present at both ceremonies were local government heads and political leaders among other dignitaries.
The Ministry would inaugurate councils for the Anyako, Weta, and Awate Traditional areas as part of the three-day exercise.
