Overlord of Nzemaland appeals to traditional rulers to unite

The Overlord of Nzemaland, King Kaku Aka III, has appealed to traditional rulers in Nzema to bury their differences, foster unity and chart a common path in the interest of peace and development.

He said conflicts and misunderstandings resulting from chieftaincy disputes had become a setback in the development of the area.

King Kaku Aka made the appeal in his New Year message to the media at Awiaso in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region.

According to him, Nzema was gradually losing its culture in the sense that the youths were deviating from its unique language, food and funeral celebrations, among other cultural values.

He, therefore, entreated the paramount chiefs and traditional rulers to help rectify the cultural mismatch.

To this end, King Kaku Aka promised to use his palace at Awiaso as a centre for the revival of Nzema culture.

Touching on employment, he noted that oil and gas companies operating in the area had not employed the youth as they should and appealed to them to respect the local content policy.

On the proposed Petroleum Hub project in the Jomoro Municipality, King Kaku Aka threw his full support for the project but urged the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation Board to scale down the 20,000-acre land earmarked for the project to an initial 5,000 acres.

He observed that the largest petroleum hub project in India was situated on 8,000 acres of land.

King Kaku Aka reminded the Board to ensure that the youth in the Nzema area received skills training to make them ready for employment when the Petroleum Hub project starts operation.

He, therefore, called for an open forum on the Petroleum Hub project to ensure transparency.

King Kaku Aka condemned the recent killings of some indigenes on the Adamus concession and cautioned the company to stay away from its proposed mining activities at the Nkroful Agricultural Secondary School (NASS).