Chiefs in the Volta region have warned the National Democratic Congress (NDC) that the party will be laughing at the wrong side of their mouth if the people in the region are taken for a ride. According to them, the description of the region as ‘World Bank' for the ruling party would become a mirage if NDC Members of Parliament (MPs), Municipal Chief Executives and Ministers from the region fail to address the development needs of the people, which had long been overdue. The President of the Regional House of Chiefs and the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli traditional area, Togbe Afede XIV gave the warning at an emergency meeting with the political leaders at Ho recently. The meeting was to afford the chiefs and the political leaders the chance to adopt a strategic plan for the development of the region. Togbe Afede expressed the disappointment of the chiefs in the region, for the inability of NDC leaders in the region to consult the chiefs, who are the representatives of the people in the planning and execution of development programmes. According to him, the chiefs and their subjects feel that the politicians have taken them for granted for far too long, and would no more tolerate such a conduct. The President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs pointed out that chiefs in the region were only remembered by politicians during elections and ceremonial occasions when their services are needed. He informed the Ministers and DCEs that they (chiefs) would like to be part of the development process because they were the custodians of the land and could, therefore, determine the needs of their people. The chiefs believe that the lack of appreciation and consultation had their roots in the manner in which the local DCES, MCES, and other appointees were appointed, and expressed their disapproval of the failure of the appointing authorities to consult traditional authorities in the appointment of local political leaders and stressed that chiefs in the region would not like to be treated with the similar disdain in future. Togbe Afede reminded the political leaders in the region that the chiefs and people were commitment to the development of the region and the country in general hence their concerns. He noted that peace was a pre-requisite for development and that was why they heeded calls from political leaders to help maintain peace by establishing a permanent mediation committee at the Regional House of Chiefs to deal with conflict. The Agbogbomefia said the people have constantly been reminding the chiefs about the numerous promises made by the government, as though they (chiefs) were responsible for the fulfilment of such promises. He therefore called on government to live up to its promises of establishing a state University for the region and the construction of the eastern corridor road among others. "We do not want these projects to remain as works-in-progress for far too long. We also want to remind our political leaders about the various abandoned projects and other facilities we lack, including a sports stadium for the promotion of sports in the region". The Volta Regional Minister, Mr. Joseph Amenowode, who was not comfortable with the feelings of the chiefs, quickly launched an attack on the media by saying "I will not be surprised that of all the things said here, only the bad ones will be the headlines for tomorrow". Mr. Amenowode, instead of addressing the issues at stake, rather attempted defending the indefensible, which attracted the disapproval from some of the chiefs, as he explained that the inability of some MPs to attend the meeting was due to the by-election at Atiwa in the Eastern region. Following the Regional Minister's attack on journalists, media practitioners were asked to leave the hall for the rest of the discussions to be held behind closed doors. The MP for Anlo and the Chairman of the Volta Region Caucus in Parliament, Mr. Kofi Hunmado, on behalf of the MPs admitted to all the issues raised against government officials in the region, and promised to make amends. Source: The Chronicle/Ghana