Okuapehene advocates fair representation of chiefs in assemblies

Oseadeeyo Addo Danquah III, Okuapehene, has called for a fixed number of chiefs to be included in the appointed members of district assemblies to address development issues affecting their communities.

This, he said, could be achieved by administrative practice pending constitutional amendment that explicitly provides for the representation of chiefs in the district assemblies.

Nana Addo Dankwah was speaking at the launch of the District Environmental Network Programme (DENP), a non- governmental organisation that addresses environmental concerns in Accra, on Thursday.

He said the lack of institutionalised representation of chiefs in the local government structure had resulted in a situation where most of District Chief Executives do not feel obliged to involve chiefs or consult them in matters, which in most cases affect them and their people.

The Okuapehene, who is also the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, said that, as a result of the erosion of the power base of chiefs by ordinances of past governments, they are not able to take control of natural resources in their areas.

Nana Addo Dankwah said natural resources are vested in the President on behalf of the people, and the chief has to beg the central government for his share of benefits accruing from the exploitation of resources in his area.

"In most cases, they have not been properly consulted or involved in the processes leading to the exploitation of resources. In situations where this has been done, it has been found out to be very controversial."

According to him, the communities, which own the resources, have in most cases not benefited much by way of revenue from the exploitation of the resources.

He emphasised that appropriate steps should be taken to ensure that chiefs are well represented in the district assemblies and are involved in the formation and implementation of policies, as well as in the identification, distribution and funding of development projects in the rural areas.

Additionally, more resources will have to be made to the chieftaincy institution to be more effective in mobilising the local people and make a meaningful impact in environmental management.

The role of chiefs, he said, will also have to be properly defined. On the state of the environment, Oseadeeyo Addo Danquah said it is estimated that the forest in Ghana, which covered an area of 8.2 million hectares in 1900, was reduced to about 1.7 million hectares by the end of 1999, putting the rate of deforestation at 75,000 hectares per annum.