Don't Play Down Chiefs' Role In National Development
A Director of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Alex Opoku-Boamah, has described as 'unfortunate' the relegation of chiefs to the background in the initiation of projects in the country.
He said it would be unfair to playdown the role of chiefs in the country's decentralisation and governance process.
Mr Opoku-Boamah said this at a validation workshop on the findings of a study on the role of traditional authorities in local governance.
The study was undertaken by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development ( CIKOD) and the Centre for Development Studies of the University of Cape Coast with support from the German Technical Cooperation (GTZ).
It was conducted in the Brong-Ahafo and the Central Region.
The workshop was attended by participants drawn from the traditional authorities in the Central Region, the academia and district assemblies.
Mr Opoku-Boamah stated that most assemblies were ready to recognise chiefs as the custodians of the land but not ready to consult them before initiating projects.
He said that the opinions of chiefs were only sought at the end of the projects.
He paid tribute to the crucial roles that chiefs played in the pre-colonial and colonial era with particular reference to contribution to the independence struggle.
The Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Sampson Kwaku Boafo, in an address read on his behalf, urged the Regional House of Chiefs where the studies were conducted to submit proposals to the National House of Chiefs on issues affecting the interfacing between the traditional councils and the assemblies.
He appealed to Nananom to be accountable to their subjects since one of the tenets of good governance was accountability and transparency.
He reiterated the need for the district assemblies to involve the chiefs in the planning and implementation of projects within the assemblies.
He stressed the need for the assemblies not to relegate their traditional authorities to performing only ceremonial functions.
Mr Boafo further called for an acceptable collaboration between the assemblies and traditional authorities to facilitate the nation's development.
Chiefs, he noted, are major stakeholders in the governance process of the country.
He advocated for the strengthening of the roles of chiefs for them to effectively partner with government in the development of the nation.
Presenting the findings, M. Bernard Y. Guri, lead consultant for the study, stated that it was noted that the relevance of traditional authorities was not in doubt but 'whereas district assemblies believe they have created sufficient structures for participation of traditional authorities in planning at the sub-district levels, the traditional authorities thinks other wise'.