Ga District Tops Chieftaincy Disputes

Forty per cent of the total chieftaincy disputes recorded in the Greater Accra Region come from the Ga District alone.

This has rendered many husbands and fathers within the district temporarily banished from their various communities for fear of their lives, leaving their wives and children to fend for themselves.

Nii Adjetey Mohenu, the President of the Ga District Chiefs Association, said the problem of chieftaincy has thrown most communities into a state of indebtedness, leading to the neglect of the welfare of wives and children.

He was speaking at a day's forum organised for Ga District chiefs, civil society organisations and the district assembly to bring to the fore the development challenges of the district and to find ways to address them.

It was organised by the Government Accountability Improve Trust (GAIT) under the auspices of the Cooperatives League of the United States of America (CLUSA) as part of an on-going programme in all regions to draw civil society closer to district developmental issues.

Nii Mohenu, the chief of Abokobi, said a common problem identified was two or more chiefs claiming authority over a single village.

"We wish to call on all traditional councils in the Greater Accra Region to organise a routine plan guide for kingmakers in the selection of occupants of their stools." According to him through dialogue and consensus building, the council would be able to assist communities with more than one chief to legally have one at a time, thereby curtailing any dispute existing.

Nii Mohenu said until these measures are instituted and enforced, the people will continue to suffer such conflicts and the communities shall remain underdeveloped in relative terms.

On land disputes, he said the integrated development had become impossible because numerous land litigations with sister communities had become the order of the day. Nii Mohenu said the situation seemed to be subsiding because communities are now left with few patches of lands. "No chief has put the revenues accruing from the sale of the lands to any meaningful use that has benefited his community.

"Currently our lands are getting finished and our communities are left underdeveloped and most of the indigenes see themselves as refugees in other communities," he said.

He pledged the district chiefs association's determination and commitment to dealing with issues that hinder progress, peace and development and appealed to all well-meaning Ga Chiefs and Elders to really find a lasting solution to land disputes, in order to chart a new path for development.

Nii Tettey Okpe II, the Executive Secretary of the association, said as chiefs, they have recognised the need to bring together chiefs, opinion leaders, civil society groups and individuals for social and economic advancement.

Mr Daniel Alimo, Assistant facilitator of GAIT, said currently programmes meant to build the human capacity at the district level and empower civil societies and people at the grassroots were taking place in the regions.