Ministry for Chieftaincy ?

Mr Kwame Mpiani, Chief of Staff at Office of the President, on Saturday said the establishment of a Ministry for chieftaincy Affairs, should be subjected to a public debate, since the framers of the 1992 Constitution, realised the need "to take chieftaincy away from the Executive arm of government".

He observed that in extricating chiefs from political control, drafters of the 1992 Constitution, recalled the country's history and the period when some politicians "made and unmade chiefs, and some chiefs also kowtowed to their (politicians) whims and caprices".

Mr Mpiani, stated these in reaction to a request made by Alhaji Mohammed Mumuni, a Member of Parliament (MP) and ranking member on the 'legal, Constitutional and Parliamentary and Judicial Committees of Parliament, for the setting up of a separate ministry to cater for the chieftaincy institution.

The Chief of Staff was speaking during an open forum, at a day's 'tripartite review seminar on chieftaincy and good governance' at Elmina, organised by the National House of Chiefs, under the theme "strengthening the chieftaincy institution to enhance its performance".

Representatives of the various houses of chiefs from parts of the country, some MPs and researchers and consultants from the Chieftaincy Secretariat attended the forum.

According to Alhaji Mumuni, the current arrangement where the office of the President had oversight responsibility for the institution was not the best, as that could not help in realising the desired objective.

The Chief of Staff, explained that the 1992 Constitution sought to make chiefs more independent, and capable of regulating their affair, and not allowing themselves to be misused, and stressed that the decision to establish a ministry, for them, therefore, should emanate from them and the public.

Earlier, Alhaji Mumuni, had also expressed concern about the lack of what he termed interplay and collaboration between the chieftaincy institution and parliament resulting in inappropriate discussion on matters affecting chiefs.

He described this, as a "major flaw" which needed to be addressed, and said the situation had contributed to the low participation of MPs at the forum, with only two of the eight parliamentarians expected turning up.

He, was however, optimistic that an effective networking between the chiefs and lawmakers, could enhance efforts to strengthen the chieftaincy institution to enable traditional rulers discharge their responsibilities efficiently.

Other issues that were discussed at the forum, were the meagre allowances being paid to members of judiciary committees of the various houses of chiefs, the lack of counsel to expedite the disposal of cases pending at the houses and the need to identify and tackle the "root causes" of the numerous chieftaincy disputes in the country.