Omanhene of the Nsein Traditional Area, Awulae Agyefi Kwame II, has appealed to divisional chiefs to be patient with their subjects by using mediation to solve chieftaincy problems. He said the use of unacceptable destoolment methods by many kingmakers exposes the chieftaincy institution to public ridicule and erodes society's trust for the institution. Awulae Kwame made the appeal at the launch of his 40th anniversary as a chief and also to mark his 65th birthday at Nsein over the weekend. It was on theme "Chieftaincy, an institution for good governance". The year long celebration will include series of public lectures on education, HIV/AIDS, small-scale businesses and quizzes among others. He said chieftaincy is not time bound as a political appointment and therefore urged kingmakers, opinion leaders and chieftaincy contractors to desist from using their influences to create confusion and misunderstanding among the chiefs and people of a particular area. Awulae Kwame said dialogue; mediation and other peaceful settlement of disputes and misunderstandings must be promoted by Ghanaians to especially safeguard the chieftaincy institutions. He noted that the frequent destoolment of chiefs coupled with the inability of their various gates to agree on a single candidate for the throne makes good governance at the local level extremely difficult. Awulae reminded chiefs of their loyalty to the society and to their subjects, adding that it would be too dangerous for any chief to align himself with a particular political party. “Chiefs must be able to work under any political system, criticise where necessary and serve as much as one can without necessarily becoming a member of the party”, he added. Awulae said the general proclamation by a chief that his subjects and himself were ardent followers of any particular political party were over. Awulae Kwame was born on Feb 2, 1942, at Pepesa Simpa and attended the local primary school there. He obtained his teachers Certificate A from the Abetifi Training College in 1968, his GCE 'O' level in 1970 and was enstooled Omanhene of the Belengbuli Akpolley's Ahwea stool on Feb. 21 1967. He was a founding member of the National House of Chiefs, served on various chieftaincy judicial committees, and presently the President of the Association of Chiefs and a board member of the Ghana Railway Company. Source: GNA