Let us focus on home-grown strategies for devt – Oti Boateng

The Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area and Chancellor of All Nations University Daasebre Prof. Emeritus Oti Boateng has called on traditional authorities and governments of Africa to immediately scale up focus on home-grown strategies for development rather than economic blueprints from the world market.

His latest call comes at the period most leaders of Africa including Ghana are struggling to revive their economy after they were hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with its devastating impacts on lives and national economy.

In view of this, most African countries including Ghana had to rely on rapid credit facility, subventions, donations, grants from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to contain the unbearable shocks of the infectious COVID-19.

Speaking at the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs meeting on Wednesday, 26 May 2021 in Koforidua, the former Government Statistician Daasebre Oti Boateng insisted that "The current global consensus on development favours a Home-Grown Strategy rather than economic blueprints from the World Market.

“Our traditional governance system has a potential role in the socio-economic, environmental, and geopolitical development of our dear nation which is yet to be harnessed for sustainable community development after 64 years of independence".

According to the former Eastern Regional House of Chiefs' President, the "award-winning Root-Based Development (RBD) model was creatively designed for the traditional states to play a complementary role to Government and the private sector in sustainable community development in Africa.

“The approach aims at building the capacities of citizens in various traditional areas to unleash their productive potential to improve themselves and to contribute to community and national development. Such enlightened citizenry provides ready support for improved business ventures and sustainable wealth creation to benefit the traditional areas in particular and the nation as a whole".

He noted that: "this innovative approach permits the government to tap into the vast network of community-based information system established by the model’s institutional set-up across the country for mutually beneficial effects".

Meanwhile, Minister for Lands and Natural Resources Samuel Abu Jinapor has solicited the supports of Chiefs in the government's avowed fight against galamsey. Announcing the decentralisation of the enforcement regime in the mining sector, Mr. Jinapor affirmed that the cooperation of the chiefs is crucial to winning the battle against the long-existing irresponsible and illegal mining which is threatening the very survival of the nation.

Contributing to the debate, the chiefs pointed out that there has been a substantial disconnect between traditional rulers and the governance structure where the chiefs were often not aware of the central government’s activities in their respective areas.

The chiefs, however, welcomed and supported the partnership initiative.

They emphasised that a root-based approach of remedy to problem involving the community and citizens at the grassroots could lead to a sustainable long-term solution.

BELOW IS THE PAPER PRESENTED BY OMANHENE (PARAMOUNT CHIEF) OF NEW JUABEN TRADITIONAL AREA DAASEBRE PROF. (EMERITUS) OTI BOATENG AT EASTERN REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS MEETING ON WEDNESDAY 26TH MAY 2021 ON THE TOPIC: THE BENEFITS OF THE ROOT-BASED DEVELOPMENT MODEL TO TRADITIONAL AREAS & GOVERNMENT:

The current global consensus on development favours a Home-Grown Strategy rather than economic blueprints from the World Market. Our traditional governance system has a potential role in the socio-economic, environmental and geopolitical development of our dear nation which is yet to be harnessed for sustainable community development after 64 years of independence.

The award-winning Root-based development (RBD) model was creatively designed for the traditional states to play a complementary role to Government and the private sector in sustainable community development in Africa.

The approach aims at building the capacities of citizens in various traditional areas to unleash their productive potential to improve themselves and to contribute to community and national development. Such enlightened citizenry provides ready support for improved business ventures and sustainable wealth creation to benefit the traditional areas in particular and the nation as a whole.

This innovative approach permits the government to tap into the vast network of community-based information system established by the model’s institutional set-up across the country for mutually beneficial effects.

Collaboration with the root-based institutions:

a) provides government with genuine grassroots inputs before taking decisions affecting the communities thus ensuring that government policies are in line with the needs and interests of the communities and the national development agenda.

b) assists in a more efficient dissemination of government development policies in the country as a whole.

c) promotes sustainable community progress and development which sum-up into prosperity and progress of the whole nation with active community involvement.

d) promotes peace and security where the Root-based institutions entrenched on the ground can alert the government to settle emerging and difficult problems detected in their respective areas before they degenerate into security threats.

The model establishes a THIRD SECTOR, known as the CITIZENS SECTOR, to provide the basic Community Planning and Governance Framework for effective public and private sector partnership in sustainable community development and investments in Africa.

The Citizens Sector is a partnership enterprise between Traditional Leaders, Citizens and the Community to move the community from consummative development purposes to investment-driven community development planning support. It is again to shift the community from charity-recipient mentality to a communal development reality and to recognize development as a community internally-generated process and not an externally importable product for consumption.

The Traditional Areas, as integral part of the Citizens Sector within the RBD framework, would have the basic capacity to partner Government and other stakeholders for a more meaningful development engagement.

With the adoption of the model, Africa’s development landscape would now boast of three key partners; Public, Private and the Citizens Sectors, nestled within Traditional Jurisdictions instead of the current imported dual public-private partnership.

With a well-implemented community development model replicated throughout the traditional areas in Africa and the communities therein, poverty, insecurity and inequalities in the entire continent would be substantially reduced.

The RBD Model revolutionises development thinking by creating an innovative development order for the economic liberation of Africa and regions of emerging economies.

It is a new development order to move Ghana and Africa beyond dependency.