Apinto Divisional Council of the Wassa-Fiase Traditional Area in the Western Region of Ghana has been highly tipped for paramountcy for their active role in development and chieftaincy affairs.
The Apinto Stool, which has Awodua as its Traditional seat, was the first place gold was discovered in Ghana and has since been the major destination for many mining companies including Tarkwa Goldfields Company, Liberty Gold Mining Company, Anglogold Ashanti (Iduaprime Mines) among others.
The Apinto stool shares boundaries with the Esuoso Stool on the South, Bosomtwi stool on the east, Tarkwa Breman Stool on the North and the Ankobra River on the West. It is also the biggest divisional council with largest landscape within the WassaFiase Traditional Area
Despite its rich culture coupled with the abundance of natural resources, Apinto, (which has a crocodile with gold in its mouth as its emblem) is yet to attain the status of paramouncy even though it has demonstrated and indeed, met all the requirements for that status.
The Apinto Divisional Council has about 60 big communities, notably among them are Tarkwa, Huni-Ano, Bonsra, Gordon, Asama Kakraba, Bokrekrom, BeinaAkyem and Yareyeya New Atuabo . The Great River Ankobra is also found within the jurisdiction of this Divisional Stool.
Our investigation reveals that, there are ten Black Stools under the Apinto Traditional Council, making it the biggest in the Wassa-Fiase Traditional Council.
We further discovered that, the office of the Traditional Council is situated in Tarkwa; one of the most popular towns under the Apinto Divisional Council .Another unique defining feature of the Apinto Council is its ability to bring development to the doorsteps of the people with little government intervention.
The only source of funding for their development projects is the royalties they get from some of the big mining companies operating in the area as well other business concerns operating in the area especially those in areas of construction, rubber plantation and cocoa farming.
It is important to mention that, for a Divisional Stool to be elevated to a Paramouncy, it must meet some criteria including; the size of the land, the number of stools it controls , a top-notch or befitting palace , the number of communities, the rate of development among others.
The Apinto Divisional Council is on the verge of satisfying all these requirements. And it is information that, processes to confer this status on Apinto are far advanced.
Social Interventions by Apinto Stool
The Divisional Council has embarked on a number of social intervention programs for the past thirty years with Stool revenue. The Council singlehandedly, extended electricity to many homes by providing electricity poles.
It also has in place a scholarship scheme, which has supported school children from poor homes right from the basic to tertiary level. The scheme, which mainly gets its funding from royalties collected from the mining companies, has supported thousands of people over the years.
It has put up Teacher’s Quarters for several schools and also rehabilitated several school buildings. Currently, plans are far advanced to construct a first class road from Awodua to HuniNso on the old railway line.
The instrumentality of the Council is also yielding Nurses' Quarters for some hospitals. The initiative is being sponsored by the Nkosuohene (Development Chief), Nana Kweku Gyedu known in private life as Mr Samuel Amoh Tobin; the Group Chairman of Tobinco Group of companies. Nana Gyedu is also supporting the construction of Community center and ICT Centers.
Further revelations indicate that, there are other developmental projects being carried out under the auspices of the newly installed Gyaasehene of the Apinto Divisional Council; Nana Kwao Bediako III known in private life as Dr Peter EboTobin, who also doubles as the Administrative Secretary.
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