Chiefs sensitized on New Chieftaincy Act
From Times Reporter, Ho.
WORKSHOP to sensitise chiefs and queen mothers in the Volta Region on the new Chieftaincy Act has ended in Ho with a call on traditional authorities to help reform the chieftaincy institution.
The workshop, which was on the theme. The tenets of the Chieftaincy Act 2008. Act 759, was organised by the National House of Chiefs and sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF).
It was used as a platform to discuss a code of ethics for chiefs and the involvement of chiefs in this year’s district level elections.
Opening it, Awulae Attibrukusu 111, Vice-President of the National House of Chiefs, urged traditional leaders to take advantage of the new Chieftaincy Act to modernise the institution
“The 1992 constitution has provided a favourable platform for chiefs to be more or less in control of the destiny of the institution and it is incumbent on us to know about the tenets of the Act”.
He commended the KAF for partnering the house to make the chieftaincy institution more attractive and responsible to the needs of the people.
Speaking on the Chieftaincy Act and the involvement of chiefs in district level elections, Dr. Kwesi Jonah, a senior lecturer at the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, who was a resource person, cautioned government against rapid increase in the number of districts.
He urged traditional authorities to educate their subjects against violence during district level elections and at the same time encourage them to participate fully in the exercise.
He also urged the chiefs to support independent campaign platforms and seek consultation with the Electoral Commission and advice on re-alignment of electoral areas.
Mr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah, Senior Programmes Manager of KAF, stressed on the need for traditional authorities to come out with a code of ethics to regulate the chieftaincy institution and assured of KAF’s support in their endeavours.
Mr. P. K. 0. Mensah, counsci for the l3rong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, who was also a resource person. asked traditional authorities to work hard to safcguar4 the provisions in the Act.
Mr. E. A. Marfo, another resource person, urged chiefs and queen mothers to collectively blend statute and customary laws under the new act to make the institution more attractive to modernity.
Dr. H. S. Daannaa who took the chiefs through chieftaincy legislation, expressed the hope that the provisions in the Act would lead to a more effective implementation and punishment for those who violated it.
*Source:
Ghanaian Times Page: 18 Wednesday, February 10, 2010 |