Denkyirahemaa of the Denkyira Traditional Area and President of the Central Regional Queen Mothers’ Association, Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III has expressed her utmost concerns over the neglect of queen mothers in regional and local chieftaincy matters.
She explained that the inclusion of queen mothers on committees in the regional house of Chiefs Council would help fight for gender and children’s issues in their traditional area.
Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III made this comment when speaking at the 4th Annual Conference and workshop spearheaded by Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) in partnership with the queen mothers’ platform in Cape Coast.
She said there should be the regional house of chiefs should create chambers for the queen mothers to enable them play the mother role in girls’ lives.
“We advise the girls on how to take care of themselves when it comes to pregnancy and if a man abuses a lady, the pains is not felt by the man, who is classified as the head but rather the women are those who feel the pains”, she said.
On governance, the Denkyirahemaa indicated that traditional rulers must uphold integrity in their governance to fight corruption in their various traditional areas.
“This is because of the reputation and the respect people have for traditional rulers in Ghana”, the Denkyirahemaa intimated.
Education
According to Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III most queen mothers are now on the path of educating themselves through Queen Mothers’ Platform- Ghana to help deal with the issue of the neglect of many queen mothers in the traditional setting.
On his part, the Director General of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC) and the Fotosamfohene in Denkyira, Dr. Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa explained that queen mothers in Ghana must not stay aloof when it comes to the development of their traditional areas.
He urged queen mothers must take their roles in educating themselves with activities that go on in their local governance.
“It is important that they need to also find a way to enhance their skills, their knowledge and their ability to influence development in their area. Engagement with the Queen Mothers is very good for the National Development Planning Commission,” he said.
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Dr. Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa who is also the Tofosanfohene of Denkyira under the stool name, Nana Esseim Kwakontan III said queen mothers should be interested and led in the development of their respective areas and also work in conjunction with their chiefs.
Meanwhile, the President of the Central Regional House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of Breman Traditional Area, Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu III has asserted that queen mothers play a huge role in the quest to fight corruption in Ghana.
He underscored that the inclusion of queen mothers in local governance will keep district chief executives on their toes to work effectively in their respective traditional areas.
The president of the queen mothers’ platform- Ghana and paramount queen mother for the Osudoko traditional area, Nana Amponsah Dokua III urged all queen mothers to live by examples in integrity, honesty and accountability.
She therefore charged paramount queen mothers across Ghana to bring on board their support and assistance from their fellow queen mothers in their region.
Source: Angela Riley Hayford and Selina Thompson/ATLFMNEWS
