Traditional leaders have beer urged to give their maximum support and cooperation to persons appointed by President J.E.A. Mills to the positions of Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs) in their various traditional areas in order to help speed up community development. "Nananom play a very important role in the local governance structure and therefore must use the power and influence they wield at the local level to help ensure the smooth running of the assemblies and the development process of the municipalities and districts." The Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, said this when a section of chiefs from the Ahafo area of the region led by Agyewodin (Prof.) Adu-Gyamfi -Ampem, Omanhene of Acherensua Traditional Area in the Asutifi District, called on him at his office to wish him well. Mr Nyamekye-Marfo was responding to a call made by Nana Ampem that the President should take into consideration the geographical and ethnic backgrounds of those he wished to appoint as MDCEs. According to Nana Ampem, the Asutifi District is made of two constituencies namely, Asutifi North and Asutifi South and under almost all previous governments, the DCE for the area came from the North. The chiefs were of the view that there must be a geographical balance in the appointment of DCE for the district. The regional minister in his response, further explained that although geographical and ethnic backgrounds were necessary, it was not a top priority, adding that the ultimate power to appoint a DCE was with the President and it was his sole prerogative. "We must therefore leave that to the President to appoint those he deems fit and above reproach and without blemish and could deliver as DCEs,” he added. "The President would not appoint any incompetent, lazy and an arrogant person to be a DCE," he assured. Mr Nyamekye-Marfo noted that Nananom should do everything within their power to ensure that the acrimony the that was often associated with the approval of the Presidents' appointees as MDCEs at the assembly level was minimised. The regional minister also called on Nananom to impress on their people to desist from making statements that could further divide the society now that the electioneering was over. Mr Nyamekye-Marfo gave the assurance that as the regional minister and the President's representative, he would not discriminate against anybody in the region but would welcome everybody no matter their political affiliation. The chiefs also commended President Mills for appointing Alhaji Collins Dauda as Minister of Lands and Natural Resources and Mr Eric Opoku, as Deputy Regional Minister, who are both citizens from the Ahafo Area of the region. In a related development, the Regional Executive of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), led by Mr Kofi Kokwa alias Kofi Jato, the Regional Chairman, has also called on the minister. Among the issues they raised were the upsurge of armed robbery on the Sunyani-Kumasi and Wenchi-Bole roads, the reshaping of roads leading to rural and food producing communities in the region and the rampant road accidents. Mr Nyamekye-Marfo in his response pledged that the regional Security Council would take up the matter and called on his counterpart in the Ashanti Region to do same to check the incidence of armed robbery, especially on the Sunyani-Kumasi highway. He blamed the recent road accidents on negligence, speeding, wrong overtaking complete disregard for road signs by drivers, and called on the leadership of the GPRTU to do more through education of their members. Source: Daily Graphic