Chieftaincy Act 2008 will be reviewed to empower chiefs - Local government minister

The Minister for Local Government, Decentralization, and Rural Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, has revealed that Section 63 of the Chieftaincy Act 2008 (Act 759) will be reviewed to empower chiefs to effectively participate in the country's local government system.

According to him, the value-based leadership of chiefs is useful for promoting responsible leadership and citizenship in the local governance area.

“We intend to formalise the relationship between the state, chiefs, FBOs, and CSOs and redefine and elevate their place and role in the national governance structure. In the same vein, may I use this opportunity to indicate the need to rethink and brainstorm on the use of local areas as against the status quo electoral areas as it pertains in other jurisdictions,” he said.

He indicated that the sub-district areas are not for only elections but to ensure the feedback mechanism as per Section 16 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936).

“I wish to entreat the experts, think tanks, and practitioners here to tinker with this and make some recommendations for policy considerations and decision-making going forward,” he added.

Addressing participants at the maiden International Conference on Decentralisation, Local Governance, and Sustainable Development, he said the conference which brings together ideas, concepts, and principles on sustainable development, good local governance, and decentralisation is surely the opportune time to begin conversations regarding the aforementioned areas of concern to the people.

“It should be noted that the issues I have raised above bother the principle of subsidiarity, which lies at the center of decentralisation and local government,” he said.