The Western Regional Council of State Member, Dr. Maxwell Boakye, has been installed as Nkabomhene (King of Unity) by the Ahanta Traditional Council during a colourful traditional ceremony held at Busua in the Western Region.

The ceremony, which took place at the Ahanta Traditional Council Hall, brought together divisional chiefs, queen mothers, elders, and members of the community in a strong show of unity and cultural pride.

In a rare collective gesture, the honour was conferred jointly by the Queen Mother and chiefs of the Council, symbolising their shared commitment to peace, unity, and development within the traditional area. As part of the ceremony, Dr. Maxwell Boakye was draped in kente cloth, a revered symbol of dignity, honour, and acceptance into the Ahanta community.

Addressing the gathering, the chiefs revealed that they had closely monitored Dr. Boakye’s activities across various traditional areas in the region and acknowledged his contributions towards promoting peace and unity in communities that had experienced divisions and conflicts.

According to the traditional leaders, his previous engagements with some traditional councils had helped restore calm and strengthen cooperation among stakeholders.

“Your presence has brought instant unity among members who were previously divided,” the chiefs stated during the ceremony. They further noted that discussions surrounding the visit had already renewed a collective commitment towards a common development agenda for the Ahanta Traditional Area.

In his remarks, Dr. Maxwell Boakye expressed gratitude to the Ahanta Traditional Council for the honour bestowed on him and pledged his continuous support and engagement with traditional authorities across the region.

He stressed the need for stronger collaboration between traditional leadership and governance institutions at the decentralised level to drive peace, unity, and sustainable development in communities.

The installation is expected to further strengthen the relationship between traditional authorities and governance structures in the Western Region while promoting social cohesion within the Ahanta Traditional Area.

President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ministry of Local Government to establish a framework that will enable traditional rulers and district assemblies to jointly monitor government development projects across the country.

According to the President, the initiative is aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability and effective delivery of critical infrastructure projects in various communities.

Speaking at an engagement with Northern Regional House of Chiefs, President Mahama said chiefs and local assemblies must work closely together through regular coordination meetings and project monitoring mechanisms to track the progress of government interventions.

“I’m therefore directing the Minister for Local Government — and the Minister is here — to create a framework where traditional rulers and district assemblies can meet occasionally to review the progress of work on critical infrastructure that government is undertaking in your various traditional areas and districts,” he stated.

The President stressed that district chief executives, assembly officials and traditional authorities should undertake joint visits to project sites to assess the quality of work and monitor implementation.

“There should be regular coordination meetings and project monitoring mechanisms where the district assemblies, district chief executives and the traditional rulers physically go to the sites of development projects to review the state of work and monitor the progress,” he added.

Mr. Mahama noted that involving traditional leaders in project supervision would help bridge the gap between projects announced and those successfully completed, while ensuring that communities derive full value from public investments.

President John Dramani Mahama has revealed that the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) is actively pursuing contractors who allegedly received mobilisation funds for the Agenda 111 hospital projects but failed to execute the works.

He disclosed that several of the facilities under the nationwide hospital initiative remain incomplete, with some stalled at foundation level despite funds being disbursed.

“Some of them are at foundation level, even some of them people took the mobilization and never went to site. EOCO is going after them,” President Mahama stated.

The President made the remarks during a courtesy call by the Northern Regional House of Chiefs at the Presidency, where discussions also focused on stalled infrastructure projects and government’s plans to revive them.

The Agenda 111 hospital programme, launched to expand healthcare infrastructure across Ghana, has faced criticism over delays and a growing number of uncompleted facilities. President Mahama acknowledged the challenges, noting that government has now adopted a more targeted, phased approach to ensure progress and accountability.

He explained that priority will be given to completing 35 hospitals that are already near completion, with funding directed toward finishing those facilities before additional phases are considered.

“What government has decided is the 35 that were almost near completion. Government this year is going to put money in and continue them and complete them,” he said.

President Mahama further indicated that government is also exploring partnerships with faith-based organisations to support the completion and operationalisation of some of the stalled hospitals, as part of broader efforts to improve healthcare delivery nationwide.