Accra, Oct. 25, GNA- Dr Henry Seidu Daannaa, a Principal Research Officer at the Chieftaincy Secretariat on Saturday said the problem of chieftaincy conflicts in Ghana is no exaggeration. He said conflicts between royal claimants continue to plague the nation into insecurity and called for immediate national measures to resolve it.
Dr Daannaa said statistics indicate that, as at mid October 2003, there were 55 cases pending before the Judicial Committee of the National Houses of Chiefs, with Ashanti Region topping with 25 cases, followed by the Eastern Region with eight.
The Central and Brong Ahafo regions had four cases each, the Western, the Greater Accra, and the Upper East regions had three cases each, whilst the Upper West and the Volta regions had two cases each, with only one case for the Northern Region.
Dr Daannaa who is also a consultant for the National Reconciliation Commission's sub-committee on Chieftaincy and Religious Bodies was speaking at a monthly roundtable discussion organised by the African Security Dialogue and Research (ASDR) in Accra.
The discussion has the topic, "Chieftaincy Conflicts and National Security in Ghana". It was attended by both serving and retired military and police officers, security intelligent analysts, parliamentarians, academia, traditional rulers, diplomats, journalists and lawyers. He noted that the number of cases has no correlation effect to the reality on the ground. These are due to factors such as the affordability of legal cost, and lack of knowledge of the legal opportunities available to parties.
Dr Daannaa cautioned security agency personnel and intelligent analysts to watch out for conflicts at regions, towns and communities with fewer cases pending at the courts and houses of chiefs, saying, "most often the cases are hiding under ground and could explode when we think all is well."
On the wider picture of chieftaincy conflicts in the country, Dr Kwesi Aning, a Security Intelligent Analyst of ASDR said the first contact of conflict resolution in the country is through regional and national houses of chiefs.
He said the regional/district security councils of late have a role to play but said there was a vacuum in the mode of transmuting security information.
Dr Aning noted that difficulties in interpreting security information/data at the districts, regional and national levels is to nib a potentially, dangerous situation from escalating.
He expressed concern about the inability of chiefs to separate their private wealth from their royal wealth.
He said all the regalia that chiefs adore belong to the stools but because the laws are not codified there is a deliberate attempt by some chiefs to divert public wealth into their private domain. He said such a situation also leads to chieftaincy conflicts as the subjects attempt to regain what belongs to the community leads to disputes.
The Participants called for documentation of traditional succession rites to ensure that national and regional houses of chiefs use these peculiar systems to adjudge conflicts.
They also suggested that succession rites, royal families and other forms of selecting chiefs and other traditional authorities be modified and bring into harmony, the changing face of the chieftaincy institutions.
The Participants noted that chieftaincy institution has moved from its colonial days of exhibiting robust militarism, instilling a sense of fear into its subjects as well as shrouding the whole institutions in a myth.
They, therefore, urged traditionalists to transform the institution, accept necessary changes, document operations and broaden the scope of succession.
