Stakeholders hold forum on chieftaincy bill in Koforidua

Koforidua Jan. 18, GNA-Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture on Friday said Chieftaincy was above politics and that the institution should not be politicized. He said without the chieftaincy institution there would be no Ghana and made an appeal that all shades of the political persuasions would put the country above their political interests and support the new chieftaincy bill.

Mr Boafo, who was speaking at a stakeholder's forum on the Chieftaincy Bill in Koforidua said the bill sought to update the Chieftaincy Act to conform to the 1992 Constitution. He stressed the need for chiefs to be well-resourced as was being done to judges to enable them to perform their duties effectively. Mr Boafo appealed to Traditional Councils to hold the chieftaincy institution in high esteem by guarding against installation of foreigners as "Nkosuohene" without knowing the background of those people.

Mr S. A. Brobbey, a Supreme Court Judge, who was the resource person, urged the government to adopt the same attitude to chiefs and chieftaincy as that adopted in the case of the Judiciary. He said it was not enough to set up the institutions, make them independent and insulate them against interference without putting in place facilities and mechanisms by which they would be able to operate effectively to resolve their problems.

Mr Brobbey said, to effectively resolve the problems facing chieftaincy, which were often reflected by violent reactions among rival factions to stools and skins, a lot more attention should be paid to the institution as a whole.

"A more vibrant approach should be adopted to solve the problems of chieftaincy to enable it to operate effectively". Mr Brobbey said the solution lay in adequately resourcing chieftaincy and possibly the Ministry of Chieftaincy too. He said the resources should cover not only adequate personnel, especially research officers into lines of succession, but also equipment and above all, appropriate funding.