Involve chiefs in governance - Osu Mantse

The Osu Mantse and President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, Nii Okwei Kinka Dowuona VI, has called for the creation of space for chiefs in the governance system.

 “The time has come for the recognition of chiefs as major players in the democratic dispensation and the development of the country. As such, chiefs should be given access to governance, and this does not mean being political,” he said.

Nii Kinka Dowuona, who was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said: “I believe that Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, being a royal, will involve chiefs in his incoming government.”

Chieftaincy

For instance, he said, matters of chieftaincy disputes should be left for traditional councils to handle, instead of the judicial courts, to give recognition to Ghanaian customs.

He said the era when municipal and district chief executives carried out development projects without the consent of  traditional authorities, which had caused a break in the chain of the decentralisation system in the decision-making process, should end.

Strengthen chieftaincy institution

The Osu Mantse called for the strengthening of the chieftaincy institution and its structures to function efficiently.

“We have the traditional, regional and national houses of chiefs and it is prudent these institutions and their councils are respected and allowed to carry out their mandate without political interference,” he said.

He appealed to the police not to issue letters of permission and protection for the installation of perceived chiefs without the approval of traditional councils to forestall disputes and bring sanity into the chieftaincy institution.