Rising chieftaincy disputes threatens national security – Kan-Dapaah

The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, has voiced concerns over the escalating number of chieftaincy disputes in the country.

He pointed out that his department's records show an uptick in chieftaincy disputes recently, which poses a significant concern for the state due to its potential impact on national security.

Kan-Dapaah noted that the nation is forced to allocate substantial resources to address these disputes, as they could escalate into violence and pose a threat to security.

At the 2024 Civil Week and 2023 Awards Ceremony in Accra, the national security minister emphasised that chieftaincy disputes threaten the country's democracy and security.

“Let me say that chieftaincy disputes, in particular, remain a thorny internal security threat that must be permanently dealt with. It is interesting to note that chieftaincy disputes constitute a significant portion of the daily situational reports that are received by my ministry.

“The potential for such chieftaincy disputes to degenerate into violent confrontations compels us to constantly dedicate considerable amounts of resources to the mitigation of such threats. And these are resources that would have been channelled into other productive sectors of the economy,” citinewsroom.com quoted him as having said.

Chieftaincy disputes have long been a significant issue that the nation has been attempting to resolve.

One such dispute involves the Alavanyo-Nkonya conflict, which has persisted for some time and has occasionally resulted in violence.

SB/NOQ