Accra, Feb. 27, GNA - Government is working assiduously to empower chiefs to effectively partner them in the governance of the nation and to return to them in the jubilee year some of their previous functions, Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr. Sampson Kwaku Boafo said in Accra on Tuesday.
He said the relevance of the chieftaincy institution to Ghana after 50 years of independence facilitated the establishment of the ministry in charge of the institution to enable it to take its rightful place as a partner in the governance of the nation.
Mr Boafo said this at a workshop on chieftaincy on the theme: "Ghana at 50: Resolving the Duality in Governance - The Future of the Chieftaincy Institution."
It was organised by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organisational Development (CIKOD) in collaboration with the House of Chiefs and sponsored by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
Mr Boafo noted that the chief was a multifunctional figure in society, the military, religious and executive head of the community as well as the trustee over land use and ownership. He also had the responsibility of ensuring land usage for the collective good of the people.
Though rulers were still performing these functions their previous powers had been weakened by regulations enacted as a result of democratic governance, he noted.
The Minister said it was therefore important for them to be empowered to perform some of their previous functions. He repeated that a Royal College would be established where issues on governance would be taught to enable chiefs to appreciate the complexities of governance.
Mr Boafo said a similar collaborative and consultative process between the Attorney-General and Ministry of Justice and the National House of Chiefs had been completed for the amendment of the Chieftaincy Act (Act 370 of 1971) to give them some level of functional roles in governance. This, he said, would soon be laid before cabinet for consideration.
He paid glowing tribute to Nana Kobina Nketia IV, an illustrious chief who contributed heroically to Ghana's independence struggle, academia, Pan-Africanism and the Diaspora and for performing the role of building a bridge between Europe and Africa.
"The period chosen to remember him in the golden jubilee celebration is therefore very apt," he said.
In a welcoming address, Nana Kobina Nketia V, Chief of Esikado Traditional Area in the Western Region, said Ghana deserved to celebrate its golden jubilee as an indigenous festival worth its sort.
A festival is not only an occasion for merry-making, and thanksgiving but serves as a solemn period for critical self-examination, a season for sober contemplation of the past and a critical junction for looking into the future.
The chieftaincy institution, he said, had shown strong resilience in spite of criticism and was still viewed as the central point in people's lives.
He noted that it was quite possible that although unrecognised the institution might be the real institution subtly maintaining the peace of the country.
Nana Kobina Nketia V, also gave a historical background of Nana Nketia IV and his contributions to independence, saying it was fit for the organisers to use the jubilee celebration for making a modest contribution towards ensuring a peaceful, stronger, democratic and more unified Ghana by bringing together chiefs and academia to discuss issues of chieftaincy and governance.
The German Ambassador in Ghana, Dr Peter Linder said his government gave credit for a harmonious collaboration between traditional rulers and elected government, because it facilitated the development of a country and ensured the traditional values written down in the constitution.
He said it took all societal forces to build a peaceful society, and chieftaincy was one decisive player without whose active support the peace would be endangered.
Dr Linder said the institution presented an indispensable condition for future political and economic development of a country.
Mr. Klaus D. Leoezer, Resident Representative of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, said the Foundation was one of the seven German political foundations that sought to promote the ideals of good governance across the globe.
He said working with the House of Chiefs had been a priority because traditional authorities did not exist in the German democratic system.
Mr Leoezer said Africa must not necessarily follow all aspects of western recipes and northern concepts, but rather be rooted in its historical, cultural, socio-economic and political setting based on universal democratic principles.
