Registrar class of Houses of Chiefs to be reformed

Ho, Aug. 1, GNA - The registrar class of the Houses of

Chiefs and Traditional Councils is to be reformed to improve its

capacity, efficiency and effectiveness in support of the chieftaincy. Mr Joe Donkor Issachar, Head of Civil Service, said this

at a two-day national retreat of the Registrars in Ho under the theme,

"Retooling the Chieftaincy Institution for Good Governance", the

role of the Chieftaincy Class", sponsored by the GTZ. Mr Issachar called for collaboration among the ministries

of Chieftaincy and Culture, Public Sector Reforms and the Office of

Head of Civil Service to initiate such reforms. Mr Issachar also directed the MCC to "enrol registrars on

the many skills, knowledge and capacity development programmes

at the Civil Service Training Centre, the Government Secretariat

School and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public

Administration". He said in addition to academic qualifications, the

Registrar needed requisite competencies, knowledge and skills to be

able to perform the functions of his or her office. Mr Issachar said the Registrar is the fulcrum around

which revolves the effective administration and proper functioning

of the respective Houses of Chiefs "Unfortunately, the Registrar Class is not performing as well as it

should", he observed. Mr Issachar said a motivated, resourceful, knowledgeable

and confident corps of registrars is needed to help find solutions to

the myriad of chieftaincy problems in the country. He said registrars could for example research into and

keep accurate verifiable and reliable records of succession lines of

stools and skins, which has been at the core of many chieftaincy

disputes in the country. The Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Sampson

K. Boafo, said until recently, the salaries and other conditions of

service of the registry class of the Houses of Chiefs and Traditional

councils were the worst among civil servants. He said chieftaincy "would need very effective support

system to play its modern role of partnering government to realize its

developmental goals." "The problems facing the institution are indeed many",

Mr Boafo said and expressed the hope that adequate resources

would be made available to it for training and "enhanced conditions

of service". The Volta Regional Minister, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, blamed

chieftaincy disputes on some chiefs and elders, sometimes with the

connivance of some personnel of the Houses of Chiefs and

traditional councils, who show open bias and distort information in

attempts to aid certain candidates and factions. Mr Dzamesi appealed to registrars to come out with

recommendations to enrich their professional expertise and the

chieftaincy institution.