Four Traditional Areas in the Savannah Region have been granted Traditional Council status. The status has legislative backing, conferring the presidency of the Council on the Paramount Chiefs of the areas, and granting the power to establish traditional committees in the pursuit of effective leadership.

The four traditional councils are Bole, Busunu, Wasipe, and Buipe respectively and are the four Traditional Councils in the Gonja kingdom after the Gonja Traditional Council.

Before their inauguration, the four traditional councils were under the jurisdiction of the Gonja Traditional Council but will now be autonomous. In a welcome address on behalf of Bolewura, Mandariwura Enumu Taase Kra kungfo welcomed the Ag. Chief Director, for the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Miss Fati Lily Soale and expressed their gratitude to the Minister, Hon. Ebenezer Kojo Kum.

Mandariwura said the four area councils in the savannah Region are the Genesis of Gonja tradition and described the whole process as a historic event that will remain in the book of records for generations yet unborn.

Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Miss Soale said the role of chiefs in national development cannot be overemphasized.

She said chieftaincy initially used to be about gathering men for War and defending territorial lands but today chieftaincy is an institution that plays a pivotal role in our development.

According to her, it is necessary to create a traditional council when she realized the Constitution and various acts in the chieftaincy allowed the creation of a council in a traditional area.

She said the chief should use the opportunity to attract development to the area and added that the council comes with technical and administrative staff to help in the activities of the council.

 The DCE for Bole, Madam Veronica Alele Hemeng lauded the ministry for the tremendous effort being put in place to support the Chiefs and said the assembly will always support the council to run its activities.

The Registrar of the Gonja Traditional Council and Savannah Regional house of chiefs Mr. Abutu Kapuori urged the chiefs to be gazetted to be part of their area’s Traditional councils.

He said chieftaincy became an institution after the colonial master left which shows the importance government attached to chieftaincy.

He explained that being a gazetted chief comes with a lot of advantages including easy travel across the globe and access to government departments and agencies adding that gazetted members are automatic members of the National House of Chief which shows the importance government attached to chieftaincy.

He said when there are chieftaincy issues the Traditional Councils can form judicial committees in their various areas to steer the affairs to a lasting conclusion.

In appreciation to her continuous effort in ensuring that chieftaincy achieves it purpose in national development, the Acting Chief Director was enskinned as Kananpewurche which makes her a Queen Mother of the Jaaga Royal gate of the Bole Traditional Area by the Paramount Chief of the Bole Traditional Area, Bolewura Sarfo Kunuge Feso I.

She was given the title Kananpewurche, for her good works and efforts she put up for the development of the Bole Traditional Area and Gonja Kingdom as a whole.

Miss Fati Lily Soale who was taken through the Traditional enskinment of a Queen mother in the Bole Traditional Area expressed her happiness describing her enskinment as a surprise.

She promised to handle her new tittle with care, get gazetted and make sure that she is always around when needed.

Bole Traditional Council has 160 sub-chiefs and covered over 90% of Bole and Sawla Tuna Kalba District however 30 chiefs qualified as members of the council and were duly sworn- in.

Source: Public Affairs & Communications Unit, MCRA