Ga Mantse preaches peaceful elections and unity in Ga State

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the supreme ruler of the Ga-Dangme people of the Greater Accra Region, has called on Ga people to unite behind the stool to build a flourishing Ga State that attracts wealth and development.

He also urged his subjects to come together and live peacefully through the 7 December polls and beyond.

The Ga Mantse was speaking to the host of Sunday Night, Nana Yaa Mensah, in a programme rebroadcast on Asaase Radio last night (Tuesday 20 October).

He reflected on disturbances that have characterised the installation of chiefs in the Ga State, the history of the Ga paramount stool and its kingmakers (Dzaasetsɛmɛi), his vision and plan for the Ga State, and prospects for public order during Election 2020.

Real enemy

He noted that despite the many rifts between members of the Ga Traditional Council before his installation as the Ga Mantse, there was not one moment during his rise to the stool when the chiefs engaged in physical fighting. Nonetheless, representatives are still in court settling residual matters which relate to the stool.

“The actual fight is not between ourselves,” the Ga Mantse said; “the actual fight is with people who are invading Ga lands, destroying our heritage, bringing politics into our midst.”

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II expressed concern about the extent to which matters which impinge on the nation’s development continue to be treated as political footballs.

“Look at brothers and sisters on both sides of the political agenda [NDC and NPP], and you see them fighting all the time because of politics. It’s so polarised in Accra that even spiritual people [the wulɔmei] are divided by politics.”

He appealed to the people of the Ga State and Ghanaians in general to avoid violence before, during and after the election, and urged them to remain tolerant of divergent views.

“Agoo, Ghana … the upcoming election should not be about the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or National Democratic Congress (NDC), but Ghana,” he said. And he continued: “We don’t want any form of violence or chaos, because we have only one Ghana. It is important for all of us to remember that we have only one Ghana, and only one Ga State.”

Appealing to the Ga people, he repeated: “Speak to your people to avoid violence in the 7 December election. Let’s ensure a peaceful election, because we have one Ghana. After you finish voting, leave for the Electoral Commission (EC) to do its work. I appeal to you to heed to these things.”

Global vision for the Ga State

The Ga Mantse further outlined his vision for the governance of the Ga State and for its social and economic development through structured sub-endowments.

His vision for Accra is based on four estates of the realm, he said. These will help foster “unity, bringing a synergy of partnership to the business interests that we want to establish, rebranding the Ga stool, creating wealth and driving wealth streams” and changing the Ga land tenure system to ensure that lands are retained for the original estates and for properly planned development.

The supreme ruler said four new funds will drive his agenda for the Greater Accra Region.

“We plan four endowments that we want to launch soon: the Ga Girl Child Support Fund, Ga-Dangme Educational Fund, the Ga Mantse ICT and Skills Development Fund, and the Ga Mantse Infrastructural and Development Fund.”

These endowments will be regulated and administered under the Ga Mantse Foundation, which will be administered and regulated from the UK.

Ultimate ambition

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru also stressed the importance of girl-child education to the development of the Ga State. He said his goal is to improve the rates of girls’ transition from basic education to senior high school. To make this possible, he is promoting ways of making it possible for girls to return to school even if they become pregnant and have to take time out.

He intends to fund training in entrepreneurial skills for girls in the Ga State to promote this policy.

Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru also said that, in line with his ambition for the Greater Accra Region, he plans to establish a salt mining plant in Ada, a cattle ranch for dairy products, an aquaculture project at Kokrobite and real-estate enterprises that will offer affordable housing.

Nathaniel Crabbe

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