The Tjikuirire Stephanus Royal House on Saturday coronated Aaron Stephanus as the new Chief of the Orlam Vaalgras Traditional Authority (OVTA). Stephanus becomes the fifth successor following the death of Chief Joel Stephanus who died in 2021 due to COVID-19 complications and served as chief of the OVTA for 46 years. In his acceptance speech, Stephanus called for unity among the Vaalgras community, saying the community has enjoyed peace, unity and tranquillity for the past 115 years and the community should build on that. 'One of my and my council's objectives is to unite the divided traditional community and lead them into the unity of prosperity and success. I pledge to work together with everybody in the jurisdiction of the Vaalgras traditional authority and I thus call on everybody to work together with the authority entrusted with this noble responsibility,' he said. The traditional authority, he said is open for developmental opportunities with all government ministries, agencies and offices to ben efit the rural impoverished neglected communities as his noble responsibility is set to specific targets, aims and objectives within specific timeframes. 'This will revitalise the traditional community from the situation in which we find ourselves in terms of socio-economic development and the government projects and programmes. We must always strive to share the little that we have to distribute the wealth equally and equity to bring everybody economically on par,' he said. Stephanus added that the Orlams clan were described as a very progressive and prosperous clan which compels the OVTA to reclaim and restore human dignity and respect among all the other traditional communities. Ovaherero Paramount Chief, Hoze Riruako on the sideline of the event, also joined the new chief in calling for unity among the community of Vaalgras for them to find a common purpose that is beneficial to the whole community. 'You have seen that all almost every ethnic group in Namibia there is disunity. Now coming to the peopl e I was appointed to lead, I want to reduce the level of hostility, anger and threats among these groups because people are misrepresenting one another and my idea is to try to work with every group for them to look for the common purpose that is beneficial to all,' he said. He added that disunity among communities can be retained through the youth citing that if one cultivates the idea of unity in them through the changing of their mindset that will help in breaching the disunity. A delegation from the Ovaherero traditional authority as well as health deputy minister and National Unity Democratic Organisation president, Utjiua Muinjangue witnessed the coronation that that took place at farm Willemsput. The JJ Rawlings Foundation and the family Sunday commemorated three years of the passing of former President Jerry John Rawlings, describing his loss as a 'difficult pill to swallow.' On Thursday, November 12, 2020, Ghana was shaken by the sudden demise of the former President. 'The shock and pain of the loss of a husband, father and champion of the masses was very heavy to bear and is indeed still a difficult pill for many to swallow,' said the Foundation and Family in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency. 'Today marks three years of the loss of a man who endeared himself to millions in our country Ghana, our continent Africa, and across the world.' Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings stood for selflessness and a rare form of candour. He was a strong man whose approach to leadership had redefined what 'we ought to espouse as leaders regardless of our fields.' The former President's courageous hands-on style of leadership, juxtaposed with his understanding and appreciation of the struggles of the common man defined his raison d'etre right throughout his life. As the nation marked the third year of his passing, he would be remembered as 'a man of the people,' the statement said. Former President Rawlings was a soldier's soldier; a patriot; a fighter for the people, who loved his country deeply. He remained boldly steadfast in his position on political and social issues that affected Ghana and other countries within the continent. As President and former President, he never paused in his desire to help the underprivileged or distressed as in the cases of Buruli ulcer in the 1990s and the memorable photograph of him standing knee deep in flood waters at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle. 'We cannot forget how one June 4 morning he cut short the celebration to visit the site of the June 3, 2015 disaster also at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle,' it said. 'As the JJ Rawlings Foundation and Family, we join all Ghanaians whose lives were impacted by President Jerry John Rawlings to celebrate his memory.' The state ment called on Ghanaians to revive the spirit of nationalism and love for country above personal pursuits and political bias. Former President Rawlings stood for integrity, probity, accountability, equity, transparency and selflessness, it said. It urged Ghanaians to reflect on his lifetime of dedication to those ideals and embody them in their daily lives. 'As we celebrate the memory of Chairman Rawlings, we pray that we will unite as a people to lift high the image of our country, pursuing Ghana's socio-economic revival and development with selflessness and purposeful devotion.'