GOODWILL
MESSAGE FROM HON. KWADWO NYAMEKYE-MARFO, BRONG AHAFO REGIONAL MINISTER, ON THE
OCCASION OF THE MAIDEN CELEBRATION OF ADEKYEM FESTIVAL OF THE CHIEFS AND PEOPLE
OF BECHEM TRADITIONAL AREA.
On this historic and nostalgic occasion of the Maiden
Adekyem Festival of the Chiefs and People of Bechem Traditional Area, it is
most fitting and appropriate for me, as the Chief Executive of the Region, to
convey my warmest felicitations and greetings, on behalf of the Chiefs and
People of the Brong Ahafo Region, to Nananom and the people of the Bechem
Traditional Area.
I can also not forget to pay glowing tribute to the
founding fathers of this Traditional Area upon whose blood, toil and ideals it
was established. We are grateful to them for the selflessness and good
leadership they exhibited and gave the area an identity over the years.
Adekyem Festival, as I am reliably informed, means
“Sharing”. The occasion should, therefore, remind us of the chords of love,
fellow feeling and brotherliness that existed among our forebearers. As you
re-enact the celebration of this cultural heritage, I urge you to reinvigorate
the communal spirit, discipline and sustained hard work for the betterment of
our people.
It is government’s expectation that the Bechem
Traditional Council would use the celebration to epitomize the aspirations of
the government, whose overriding policies revolve around social development,
the private sector, human resource development and good governance.
Personally, it is a great delight and inspiration for
me to be intrinsically linked to the re-enactment of this epic maiden
celebration of the rich cultural heritage of the Chiefs and People of Bechem,
especially, because it is coming during my tenure.
Finally, on behalf of the Regional Coordinating
Council and the Chiefs and People of the Brong Ahafo Region, it is my singular
honour and pleasure to congratulate the Chiefs and People of Bechem Traditional
Area on this maiden celebration of the Adekyem Festival.
I cherish the hope that you will have a wonderful and
successful celebration. Ayekoo!
May the Almighty God richly bless the Chiefs and
people of the Bechem Traditional Area.
Thank you.
I deem it a great honour to be associated with the
Adekyem festival which is very important for the Chiefs and people of Bechem
Traditional Area.
My close association with Bechem Traditional Council
dates back to the late 1990’s when my great party, the NPP confirmed me as
their candidate for the year 2000 General Election. Since then, I have been
enjoying an excellent working relationship on purely non-partisan levels with
Omanhene and his Traditional Council. It is on this strength that I write this
short message with great joy.
Festivals are used in this part of the world to
inform, and educate the people and friends from far and near about the beliefs,
customs, life styles, history, culture, religion of people of a defined
location.
I am sure the Adekyem Festival will seek to achieve
same and even more. I therefore want to express my appreciation to Nana
Omanhene and the Traditional Council with the fervent hope that the celebration
will bring to the fore the vision and direction for development, unity and
prosperity for the Chiefs and people of Bechem Traditional Area. Nana,
your leadership has inspired me and I do cherish your good counsel and assure
you that I will continue to make myself available always for service and
development of our dear District.
What gladdens my heart is the information that the
maiden Adekyem Festival is dedicated to Education in order to create an
Endowment Fund to cater for the education of brilliant but needy students. This
vision of Nananom is in line with what I have sought to do ever since you
elected me as your humble Member of Parliament: contributing in diverse ways to
the development of Bechem Presbyterian Senior High School, St. Joseph’s College
of Education and sponsoring many students in our Constituency to receive
education at Secondary and Tertiary levels.
I welcome the decision of Nananom to join me in this
noble enterprise of providing for the human resource development of our people
and wish to assure the Chiefs and people of Bechem Traditional Area of my
unflinching support in the celebration of the maiden Adekyem Festival.
May the celebration of Adekyem Festival remind
us of our past achievements as a people and bring us closer together for the
development of our Traditional
Area in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Area in particular and Ghana as a whole.
Thanks for the opportunity to serve you and contribute
to the success of the maiden Adekyem Festival. May God bless us all.
I
am delighted to be associated with the Adekyem Festival of the Chiefs and
people of Bechem Traditional Area.
I
would like to thank Nananom of the Bechem Traditional Area for going back into
their roots to institute the Adekyem Festival of which we are celebrating
today.
The
Adekyem Festival portrays the rich cultural heritage of our people and foster
unity among our people.
This
occasion also afford us the opportunity to pay glowing tribute to our ancestors
and all those who have exhibited dedication to the development of the Bechem
Traditional Area. It is also a unique occasion for us to ponder on our
own history including the challenges that confronted our forefathers before
laying the foundation of our town.
Adekyem
literary means sharing, therefore it is time to share unity, love and the
peaceful coexistence in the District and the country at large. Let us use
this occasion to think of the development of our town.
I
want to thank Nana Fosu Gyeabour Akoto II and his elders and congratulate the
Chairman and members of the planning committee for the foresight in instituting
this festival and their untiring efforts in planning the event we are
witnessing today.
I
hope this festival would be a lasting event and also an integral event on our
calendar.
The
Tano South District Assembly would collaborate and do all it can to help
sustain the Adekyem Festival and it is my prayer that, the good people of
Bechem Traditional Area would do all that it takes to make the festival an
event to be celebrated by our children yet unborn in the years ahead.
It
is my expectation that, this festival would bring happiness and Development to
the people in our community which would be translated into a spirit of unity,
love and harmony among the people of Tano South District and Ghana as a whole
I
wish to use this occasion to appeal to us all to tolerate the views of one
another and let us unite for the development of the Traditional Area.
It
is my fervent hope that we have a very fruitful and successful celebration.
Long
Live Bechem Traditional Area,Long Live Tano South District, Long live Brong
Ahafo, and Long Live Ghana.
Thank
you all and God Bless us all.
GOODWILL MESSAGE BY OSAHENE KWAKU ATERKYI II, KUKUOMHENE
AND PRESIDENT OF BRONG AHAFO REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS ON THE OCCASION OF THE
DURBAR TO CLIMAX THE CELEBRATION OF ADEKYEM FESTIVAL OF CHIEFS AND PEOPLE OF
BECHEM TRADITIONAL AREA ON 19th NOVEMBER, 2011
I
am glad to have the opportunity to be part of the maiden celebration of ADEKYEM
FESTIVAL which explains the source from which this settlement derived its name
– “Bechem” during the early struggle and development of Asante Kingdom.
It
is therefore not a surprise that it has dawned on Nana Omanhene and his elders
for instituting a festival, which is an occasional event to be celebrated by
chiefs and people of this Traditional area, to signify the antecedent of this
historic town. I congratulate Nana Omanhene, for seeing to institute this festival
(Adekyem) during his tenure of office, and it is recommended that it would be
observed annually to rekindle the spirit of the citizenry for speedy
development of the area.
I
am reliably informed also that the occasion would be used for establishment of
an Education Endowment Fund to enhance speedy development for the Traditional
Area. This, indeed, is a laudable idea and I see this as a great honour during
my tenure of office, as the President of Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs,
to be part of this historic occasion.
Congratulations:
Nananom,
Ladies and Gentlemen. Please, permit me to warmly congratulate you all,
especially Nana Omanhene and his Elders for this maiden celebration, and for
the peaceful manner you have gone through preparations for this memorable
celebration. Occasion such as this, may also be used for settlement of petty
squabbles in individual homes and families of the Area. This I trust would in a
way bring peace, love and unity in the entire Traditional Area for sustained development.
Chieftaincy
Act 2008 (ACT 759)
Nananom,
Distinguished Invited Guests, Ladies Gentlemen, as a father of the Region and
President of the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, Please permit me to say
something about the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (ACT 759). Nananom, as chiefs in the
Bechem Traditional Area, you must be abreast with the Laws governing
Chieftaincy in our dear country.
1. Section
57(1) of the Chieftaincy Act 2008, Act 759 describes a chief as “a person who
hailing from the appropriate family and lineage, has been validly nominated,
elected or selected and enstooled, enskined or installed as a chief or
queenmother in accordance with the relevant customary law and usage.”
2. Notwithstanding
the above, Section 57(5) of Act 759 also state that a chief or queenmother
cannot perform a function under the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759), unless the
name of that chief or queenmother has been registered in the National Register
of Chiefs.
3. Section
62(1) of the Same Act 759 also states that every change in the status of a
chief or a queenmother in Ghana must be reported for registration in the said
National Register of Chiefs.
This
explains why it is always necessary for the death, Destoolment, Abduction, and
Enstoolment of a chief to be reported by the Traditional/Divisional Council,
through the Regional House of Chiefs to the National House of Chiefs. This is
done by filling of the appropriate Chieftaincy Declaration Form(s), that is
Form 1A and 1B for such a change to be effected by the National House of
Chiefs.
I
wish therefore to urge Nananom who have not been registered to take necessary
steps to do so, to enable them to perform functions of a chief under the Act.
Traditional
Council Membership
Nananom,
another area I would like you to know is section 14(1) of the Chieftaincy Act
2008 (Act 759) which states that all members of the traditional/divisional
councils shall have their names entered in the National register of Chiefs.
Nananom,
Section 57(5) and 14(1) of the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) have therefore
clearly spelt out that many of our chiefs cannot be members of their respective
Traditional/Divisional Council, because their names have not yet been entered
into the National Register of Chiefs.
Nananom
must always bear in mind that Traditional and Divisional Councils including
Regional and National House of Chiefs are all statutory Institutions under the
Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture, and so whoever belongs to any of them as a
member must be recognised by the law.
It
is therefore very imperative for every chief or queenmother in Ghana to have
his or her name registered in the National Register of Chiefs.
Development
Nananom,
Ladies and Gentlemen, another vital area I would like to comment on, is
Socio-economic development of our communities.
Every
chief of today must see prime need of his community to get developed. As a
chief and leader of a community, men, women as well as the youth must feel
comfortable with you and support you to initiate developmental projects, to
benefit the people in the community.
The
people of your community must get good drinking water, enough food, gainful
employment, reasonable accommodation, electricity, schools for the children,
hospitals, among other infrastructural developments.
I
thank God that this celebration will be used to establish an Education
Endowment Fund to help raise educational standard of people of this community.
Gone are the days when chiefs go to war to expropriate lands as booties. These
days every chief rather sees to the protection of his/her Traditional
boundaries and seeks developmental needs of his/her communities for the
betterment of the people.
That
is why it is always necessary to eschew internal litigation of all kinds in any
community to pave way for sustainable development.
Appreciation
Nananom,
Distinguished invited Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, I finally thank organisers
of the programme, Nana Omanhene and his Elders as well as the entire people of
Bechem Traditional Area for finding it necessary to invite me to join you in
this memorable celebration.
I
congratulate the entire people of Bechem Traditional Area and all of you here
present on this healthy celebration, and wish everybody well.
Long
live the chiefs and people of Bechem Traditional Area!
Long
live the Brong Ahafo Region!
Long
live Ghana!
May
the Good Lord bless all of us for unity, progress and peace in our dear Mother
Ghana.
Thank
you
I
wish, on behalf of the Brong Ahafo Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of
Ghana, to heartily congratulate Nananom and the industrious people of Bechem on
the occasion of the Adekyem festival.
Occasions
such as this one provides the unique opportunity for a retrospective assessment
and reflection on the past achievements or otherwise. The occasion also serves
as a platform to appreciate heroes who in diverse ways have made significant
contributions to a community such as yours. Once again, I join you, Nananom, to
say ayekoo! to all those who in no mean way have contributed to the success
story of Bechem.
May
I crave your indulgence, Nananom, to remind those in responsible positions:
i.e. traditional rulers, public servants, religious people and the entire
citizenry to make every sacrifice necessary to uphold the principle of selfless
commitment that characterised the forebears of the land.
Bechem
has often been counted among the farming communities of Brong Ahafo where food
abounds. Besides this, the community is blessed with educational institutions
which add to the fame of Bechem. Many great men and women have benefited from
the hospitality and educational opportunities of Bechem. These achievements
should not drive you into complacency, but urge you to higher heights.
In
this regard I pray that on this occasion, Nananom and the people of Bechem
would reflect on how to add to your record of higher educational institutions
and selfless participation in communal activities to enhance your revered
reputation.
Congratulations
and may God richly bless your endeavours.
REV.
KWADWO OWUSU SARPONG
B/A
PRESBYTERY CHAIRPERSON
PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH OF GHANA, SUNYANI
On the occasion
of the celebration of the Maiden Adekyem Festival, I congratulate you, Nana Fosu
Gyeabour Akoto II, Omanhene of Bechem Traditional Area and President, Bechem
Traditional Council and all the people within your area of traditional
jurisdiction.
In such a
celebration you remind us of our history and you have to be commended for this.
Generally, we
cannot move ahead without knowing where we are coming from. During these days
our youth especially, who constitute the future leadership of our country,
Ghana, need to be knowledgeable about our culture, tradition and history. This
will help them to position themselves appropriately and take the proverbial
baton from the elders when they pass it on to them.
It is our hope
that the celebration of this festival and subsequent efforts will bring all
people together to enhance opening up Bechem in particular and our dear
country, Ghana, in general.
All of us are
very delighted that the Traditional Council is establishing an education
endowment fund. I praise you for the initiative you have taken to do this, for
education empowers people and is the springboard for national development.
On behalf of the
Catholic Diocese of Goaso and on my own behalf, I wish you and all the people
of Bechem Traditional area God’s blessings, and may you successfully accomplish
what you have began.
