Traditional leaders of Awutu Odupong are demanding the removal of the Awutu Senya East Municipal Chief Executive, Seth Sabah Serwonoo-Banini, accusing him of poor leadership, disrespect and inadequate planning in Kasoa.
The chiefs said the construction of permanent stores on land reserved for future road expansion projects within the Kasoa Central Business District (CBD) is one of their major concerns.
According to them, the development will frustrate the planned expansion of the road from Breku to Cape Coast and defeats proper physical planning for the fast-growing municipality.
They also accused the MCE of treating the traditional authority with contempt and said his performance has been poor compared to his counterpart in the neighbouring Awutu Senya District.
The traditional leaders cited a recent performance report on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Central Region, which ranked the Awutu Senya East Municipal Assembly among the poorly performing assemblies, as further justification for their call.
Speaking at the celebration of the Odupong Awubia Festival, the customary custodian of Odupong, Nai Kwabena Atopi, indicated that the traditional leaders can no longer cooperate with the MCE.
> “Strangers are struggling with us over our own property. I want the government’s representatives to know that what they are doing will land them in trouble. They know that the commercial value of land in Kasoa has increased so they want to grab some,” Nai Atopi said.
> “How can we expand the road now that they have built stores here? I am calling on President John Dramani Mahama to intervene. As the MCE, you shouldn’t meddle in chieftaincy matters. You can’t build on land reserved for a road. The Kasoa Assembly performed poorly according to the Local Government Ministry. So we want to inform the President that his representative is not performing. Chiefs don’t do politics, but we can share our observation. The MCE must be removed,” he added.
Nai Atopi appealed directly to President Mahama and the Central Regional Minister to replace the MCE with someone capable of working in partnership with traditional authorities to accelerate development in Kasoa.
The call comes amid escalating tensions between the Assembly and the traditional council over land use, chieftaincy matters and the handling of the Kasoa Old Market redevelopment project.
Story by Ama Frimpomaa
