Mr Ebenezar Kojo Kum, the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has inaugurated three Traditional Councils in the Upper West Region.

They are the Sankana and Takpo-Wilaa Traditional Councils in the Nadowli-Kaleo District and the Manwe Traditional Council in the Wa East District.

Mr Jonathan Avogo, the Wa Circuit Court Judge, administered the oaths to the Paramount Chiefs, Divisional and Sub-chiefs as well as Queen Mothers at Sankana, Takpo and Manwe.

The Sankana Traditional Council with 36 members is led by Naa Pagranege Sakoe Mornah III as the President; Takpo-Wilaa with 15 members is led by Naa Widaana Nanga II while Naa Alhaji Abubakari Yussif Wiah leads the 37 member council of Manwe.

Naa Dikomwine Domalae, the Paramount Chief of Daffiama Traditional Area and President of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs (UWRHC), the Registrar of the UWRHC and the Chief Director of the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, were also at the inauguration ceremony.

While congratulating the chiefs on their new status, Mr Kum urged them to support the government's flagship programmes such as the Free Senior High School, the fight against illegal mining and harvesting of rosewood.

The Minister noted that chiefs were the centre of rural communities and challenged them to help improve the livelihoods of the people.

"The chieftaincy institution has been acknowledged by successive legislative and constitutional provisions as occupying an important role in the lives of the people, particularly around the administration of rural communities and the management of resources," he explained.

Mr Kum charged them to support the government's fight against outmoded cultural customary practices as both the constitution and chieftaincy act prohibited such customary laws.

The Minister entreated the chiefs to work towards promoting peace in their communities and ensure that chieftaincy and land-related conflicts in the area were resolved peacefully to help facilitate the development of the traditional areas.

Naa Mornah commended the government and the MCRA as well as the UWRHC for taking the necessary steps to ensure that the Sankana Traditional Area attained a paramountcy status, saying, "The road to paramountcy was quite long and rough."

"Within my reign as paramount chief, I envisage my leadership as service to mankind and my people, the foundation of my followers," Naa Mornah said and appealed for the needed support to succeed.

He appealed to the authorities to help connect the rest of the traditional area to the national grid, especially the Council Secretariat, and to improve access to potable water.