Respect our traditions - Ga Traditional Council tells residents

Source: Daily Graphic Ghana  -  The Ga Traditional Council has appealed to all residents in Accra and its environs to adhere to the traditional norms and customary rites presented by it to ensure peace and the avoidance of any calamity in the capital.

According to the acting President of the Council, Nii Dodoo Tackie, residents over the years had refused to observe certain traditional norms such as the ban on drumming and noisemaking and undertake activities that were against the laws of the traditional stool during the ban.

Such activities, he said, included funerals and merrymaking, which sometimes brought calamity to the capital.

He made the appeal at a press conference in Accra yesterday after members of the council toured the disaster site and inspected the dredging of the Korle Lagoon.

Citing some calamities, Nii Tackie said the popular May 9, 2003 Accra stadium disaster which claimed the lives of 126 football fans occurred during the ban on drumming and noisemaking in the city.

Additionally, he said, the recent flood and fire disaster which occurred on June 3, 2015 and took the lives of 159 people could be attributed to a vigil that was organised by actress Yvonne Nelson, against the wishes of the traditional rulers.

“We deem it unfortunate that in spite of these calamities, certain groups of people resident in Accra continue to flout the ban when it is placed on activities in the national capital,” he said.

He expressed the hope that the recent disaster in the city would serve as a wakeup call to all stakeholders in the capital to co-operate with the traditional rulers, as well as the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to ensure adequate sanitation and cleanliness of the city.

Interestingly, last year when the council placed a ban on noisemaking, there was a boxing match between Bukom Banku and Ayitey Powers at the Accra Sports Stadium, but nothing catastrophic happened.

He said in the meantime,the three traditional councils, comprising Ga, Ngleshie Alata, and Osu, would ensure that all adequate steps were taken to perform the necessary rites to ensure that “these unfortunate incidents which strangely occur during the ban on drumming and other related activities do not happen again”.

Nii Tackie also expressed the council’s deepest condolences to all bereaved families and wished injured victims seeking medical treatment speedy recovery.

“We hope that the government and for that matter the AMA and well-wishers are already taking steps to put smiles on the faces of the families of those who have lost their relatives and property,” he added.