State must support traditional priests – Ga Council

Numo Blafo III, Secretary to the Ga State Council of Wulomei in Accra, has called on government to consider the creation of a fund for traditional priests from the District Assemblies Common Fund to cater for their welfare.

He said as Wulomei (Ga priests), “We are not making this request in isolation of our colleagues in the other regions, who also have the Tindanis in the Northern and the Togbes in the Volta Regions. This is a national issue.”

Numo Blafo, who is also the Torch and Sword Bearer for the Ga State, and performs the annual rituals for the launch of the Homowo, made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra on Saturday, during the celebration of the Ga Homowo festival.

He said: “Nobody should take this issue as politics.  It is our right.”

“Very soon you will hear our voice in Parliament” and also “we asking the Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs to come in the consideration of the matter, because we don’t to take our quietness as our weakness,” he said.

He said some percentages had been set aside in the Assemblies Common Fund for the activities of some institutions and individuals, “but we the custodians of the lands in which the assemblies operate have been left out.”

Numo Blafo said the assemblies generated a lot of revenue from property rates and market tolls for government and therefore; “it is time we the landowners also benefit from the Consolidated Fund.”

“It has been for far too long and this time round we cannot sit down unconcern for our rights to be continually trampled upon. Why is it that chiefs benefit from some allowances whilst the Wulomei are neglected? It is a discriminative act,” he said.

Source: GNA