Monday, 6th June, 2022

Page 4
DAILY ANALYST Monday, 6th June, 2022
Breman chief
bars burial of
late farmer!
The decision of the Chief of Breman-Brofoyedu, a
mining community in the Upper Denkyira West in
the Central Region, to bar a family of cocoa farmers
from burying their late brother, Kwadwo Konadu
(aka KO), is brewing tension in the town.
According to the bereaved family, Nana Amoabeng Kwasu
II, who is the Chief of Breman-Brofoyedu, has categorically
made it clear to them that he will not allow for the burial and
funeral rites of their late brother, Kwadwo Konadu, to take
place in Breman.
This understandably became known when the Head of the
Konadu family, Opanyin Kojo Bio, fea w weeks ago, led a small
delegation of family members to the chief’s palace to inform
him [the chief] and his elders about the death, funeral and
burial rites of their deceased brother.
Unfortunately, after pleading with the chief to rescind his
decision, Opanyin Bio said Nana Kwasu II asked them to pay a
fine of GHC10,000, 10 bottles of Schnapps, and 20 sheep before
they will be allowed to go ahead with the funeral, excluding
the burial.
But addressing a crowded press conference in Breman on
Friday, June 3, in an all-black and red attire, the Head of the
Konadu family, Opanyin Bio, flanked by the widow of KO and
his three daughters, said they were surprised at what they
described as a “unilateral decision” by the chief.
He stressed that they will use all legitimate means to ensure
that they lay their brother to rest on the scheduled burial
date—June 17, 2022 in Breman.
“Our late brother (KO) was born and bred in Breman, and
raised a family here too. His late father who was a royal was
a warrior of an Asafo group in Breman. Therefore, we have
nowhere to bury our brother but here in Breman!” the head of
family underscored.
Though he said they will not resort to the use of force, he
cautioned that failure by the chief to allow them go ahead
with the burial and funeral rites will compel them to carry
the corpse to the palace.
According to Opanyin Bio, the underlying reason why the
chief of Breman was preventing KO’s burial and funeral ceremony
was the refusal of “our late brother to give his parcel of
land to Perseus Mining Ghana Limited (PMGL) for mining.”
“At least if Nana Kwasu II is claiming our brother verbally
abused him some time ago, as our Chief, we would have expected
that such a matter would be brought to our attention.
Nothing of that sort happened!” he pointed out.
“…resurrecting this issue now which we members of the
Konadu family have no inkling about is not only fair but outlandish.
It raises loads of doubts,” Opanyin Bio indicated.
On that score, he re-affirmed that they had made all the
necessary arrangements for the funeral of their brother, adding
that any disruptions will seriously affect them.
On the issue of the fine by the chief which was later reduced
to GHC5,000, 2 Schnapps, and 2 goats, he indicated that
the family does not have that sum of money.
“We are a poor family and cannot afford this huge fine by
our chief, a reason we severally pleaded with him,” he said.
Concluding, the head of the family called on the police to
intervene in the matter to avoid any chaotic scenes on the
burial date.
Meanwhile, when journalists after the press conference
contacted Nana Amoabeng Kwasu II in his palace, in an arrogant
posture and angry tone he drove them away.
“You journalists don’t know your work. You should have
called me first from Accra before coming to see me in my
palace, so go away I will not talk!” Nana Amoabeng II angrily
said.
We need leaders
who can’t be bought
The General Secretary
of the Church
of Pentecost, Apostle
Alexander Nana
Yaw Kumi-Larbi
has made a passionate appeal
to traditional leaders to rule
with integrity and selflessness
in order to eradicate
the menace of bribery and
corruption.
When expounding the
word “integrity” to specify
what he needs from the
leaders, Apostle Kumi-Larbi
explained it as wholeness,
perfection (without blemish
or wrinkle), soundness, simplicity,
completeness and sincerity;
the exact behaviour or
personality expected by the
clergyman from the leaders
of this country.
Using the concepts of
engineering as an analogy to
buttress his points, Apostle
Kumi-Larbi said in engineering,
a structure such as a
bridge or a building would be
described as having “structural
integrity” when it is
sound and fit for purpose. In
the same way, the Christian/
Leader who has integrity is
sound, reliable, trustworthy,
and could therefore be described
as dependable. “Leaders
must be fit for purpose”,
he stressed.
“Our generation critically
needs leaders with integrity
– people who cannot be
bought, will not compromise
with wrong, will walk the
talk, and will be completely
honest in small things as in
great things”, he highlighted,
lamenting that “unfortunately,
integrity seems to be
a critical aspect of leadership
which are mostly found
wanting, both in the church
and society as a whole.”
Using the analogy of what
informs Paul’s admonishing
in choosing leaders for the
church and ministry in Acts
6:3-5 and 1 Timothy 3:1-2,
Apostle Kumi-Larbi said, God
expects his children to stand
out and be counted as people
who do not yield to corrupt
practices but always upholding
to ethical values in every
area of their lives – at home,
in the workplace and in the
church.
Apostle Alexander Nana
Yaw Kumi-Larbi was speaking
at the 3rd Royals’ Conference
of The Church of Pentecost
at the Pentecost Convention
Centre (PCC), Kasoa
on Wednesday, June 1, 2022
under the topic, “Chieftaincy
and integrity”
Zooming in to specifics,
the General Secretary revealed
that our society is
bedeviled with corrupt practices,
including procurement
breaches, tax evasion, cronyism
and nepotism, over and
under-invoicing, wrongful
and inappropriate acquisition
of academic accolades for
vain glory and acquisition of
power. Again, he said we can
also talk about lateness to
work and closing earlier than
expected, the use of office
hours for private work/Job,
indiscipline, and poor time
management.
With a sorrowful voice,
and great disappointment
showing on his face, he outlined
some of the effects that
the country is suffering due
to these unhealthy attitudes.
Just to mention a few, he
mentioned poor healthcare
delivery causing premature
deaths, shoddy works in
construction, poor roadwork
causing road accidents, poor
educational system, increasing
gap between the rich and
poor, inequitable distribution
of wealth, the galamsay menace,
environmental degradation,
land tenure system and
total indiscipline.
In order to put an end to
this enemy that is ruining
our country, Apostle Kumi-Larbi
challenged traditional
authorities, who are
the custodians of our lands
and our culture to use their
positions to influence their
spheres positively and to
transform their societies by
ruling with integrity that will
serve as an example for others
to follow. He advised that
leaders, especially traditional
leaders eschew all attitudes
that will bring disrepute to
their thrones and kingdoms.
Quoting Proverbs 16:12, he
cautioned, “it is an abomination
before God for kings to
do evil, for the throne is established
by righteousness”.
He also implored traditional
leaders to copy the integrity
of Nehemiah on how
he led the people of Judah
(Nehemiah 5:1-19). “Generally,
a position of authority
may entitle a person to
certain rights and privileges,
however, just as Nehemiah
remained faithful to God in
all aspects of his life, believers
are encouraged to be loyal
citizens and conscientious,
faithful workers, especially
when in a privileged position
of authority”, he advised disclosing
also that, Nehemiah
used the privileges associated
with his position to serve his
people. “Leaders are not supposed
to use their position to
amass wealth. Instead, they
use their power and resources
to help the poor, needy and
vulnerable in the society”, he
revealed.
The 3rd Edition of the
Royals’ Conference was
organized by the Chieftaincy
Ministry of The Church of
Pentecost in collaboration
with the Pentecost Men’s
Ministry (PEMEM), under the
theme, “Equipping Royals As
Gatekeepers To Possess The
Nations”. Over 1,500 royals
(traditional leaders) from
Ghana, Togo, and Burkina
Faso attended the programme.