End the Debate on Chieftaincy Relevance - Daasebre

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• oseikofiduah@yahoo.com 11 years ago

  Really chieftaincy in our modern times is retrogressive. Life begins with land and development begins with land therefore land is the most important single resource for all human beings. There are several cheiftaincy disputes ...
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  Really chieftaincy in our modern times is retrogressive. Life begins with land and development begins with land therefore land is the most important single resource for all human beings. There are several cheiftaincy disputes and activities that stall development as existing and/or prospective chiefs are fight over the stool. In the process the people are stopped from carrying on any development on land under dispute. Chiefs, instead of being agents of development rather encroach upon the rights of the people by selling land belonging to the people and pocket the money. According to the Ghanaian constitution the land belongs to the people and the chiefs hold it in trust for the people. This does not mean land is owned by the chiefs. Most people litigate to become chiefs with the single aim of grabbing the people's land to sell and pocket the proceeds which is absolutely unfair to the subjects and especially to the unborn generations. If our forefathers had managed land the way chiefs are managing it today what will they be selling today. In places where there are disputes over chieftaincy rights, people who have bought land are encountering serious problems in developing their plots because they are constantly being harassed by the litigants. Some of the consequences are unemployment, delay of projects resulting in cumulative interest burden on those who borrowed for their projects, stalled infrastructure development. Allocation of land to the people of affected areas becomes a problem if there is a chieftaincy dispute but life cannot stop because a chief might have died and royals are fighting over who should be the next chief.
  
  SUGGESTIONS: In other to avoid most of the land problems associated with cheftaincy the constitutions must be followed. The constitution makes it clear as i have already stated. Secondly the constitution makes it clear that 25% of proceeds from sale of land should be given to the stool in other to maintain it. I suggest there should be land boards constituted by election for a period to deal with land issues in order to ensure accountability and continuity of development even during times when there are disputes or during the process of installing a new as life continues when a chief dies. The board should include technical experts such as planners, Engineers, environmentalist, a royal member and a number of ordinary people of the area. Coupled with other issues chieftaincy could then be modernised to play a more meaningful role in the development of the country

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• Tokugawah 11 years ago

  Good comment by oseikoforidua. Unfortunately chiefs have always been irrelevant as they only pursued personal interest at the expense of the people and they do so now. India got rid of their Maharajas and Zamindaris in 1947, ...
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  Good comment by oseikoforidua. Unfortunately chiefs have always been irrelevant as they only pursued personal interest at the expense of the people and they do so now. India got rid of their Maharajas and Zamindaris in 1947, at Independence. There was a lot of talk that it could not be done because the Maharajas and Zamindaris who more or less ruled India and controlled all the lands were very powerful. Nevertheless the Indian government abolished the Maharajah institution which had been there for thousands of years. We could get rid of the useless parasitic Chieftaincy institution in Ghana. Unfortunately our gorvernments are cowardly and also self seeking and do not have the interests of the people. It will never be done and we will continue withe nonsense of Chiefs, Asantehene and all the land problems. Like everything in Ghana, a Great shame.

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• ABU 11 years ago

  i salute you,sir

  i salute you,sir

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• still rastafari 11 years ago

  Chieftaincy is DEAD it is just tolerated

  Chieftaincy is DEAD it is just tolerated

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• ABU 11 years ago

  The onus lies on the chiefs to prove their relevance and usefulness in and to society in order to bring the debate to a close Tonnes of negativities is the lot of our chiefs,chiefs are engaged and involved in so much vices s ...
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  The onus lies on the chiefs to prove their relevance and usefulness in and to society in order to bring the debate to a close Tonnes of negativities is the lot of our chiefs,chiefs are engaged and involved in so much vices such as extortions,bribery,corruption,stealing and abuses among others

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• Akua Mansa 11 years ago

  Chieftancy will become a joke unless the Chiefs change the perspective of the institution and make it relevant to modern development.
  
  Daasebre is right on point

  Chieftancy will become a joke unless the Chiefs change the perspective of the institution and make it relevant to modern development.
  
  Daasebre is right on point

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• MARCUS AMPADU 11 years ago

  Oseikofiduah and Togukawah's arguments don't hold water, in the least:
  In the former's case, the chiefs are nothing but land sellers; while in the latter's case, India did away with the Maharajas and Zamindaris in 1947; and ...
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  Oseikofiduah and Togukawah's arguments don't hold water, in the least:
  In the former's case, the chiefs are nothing but land sellers; while in the latter's case, India did away with the Maharajas and Zamindaris in 1947; and we should also "get rid of the useless parasitic chieftaincy institution in Ghana. ...It will never be done and we will continue with the nonsense of chiefs, Asantehene and all the land problems."
  
  What a non sequitur. Gentlemen, your fallacies do not follow from the evidences. Not all chiefs are land sellers, and not all behavev like Maharajas drunk with debauchery.
  
  Well, I beg to differ. Our chiefs are becoming increasingly educated, time and space wouldn't allow me to cite the number of highly educated chiefs, "season thinkers in the country", whom we should welcome to play roles in our national development.
  
  It is time we started an insult-free conversation to discuss the Daasebre's Home Grown Ecomonic Development Model. I believe we can make it an example for the world to emulate.

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• CAPII 11 years ago

  CHIEFTAINCY IS OUR TRADITION,CUSTOM & CULTURAL HERITAGE. OUR IDENTITY IS IN LANGUAGE,WHEN LOST ANOTHER CULTURE EMBRACE YOU AS SECONDARY. MODERN DAY POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM IS CORRUPT AND INCOMPETENT. WASTE !!!!!

  CHIEFTAINCY IS OUR TRADITION,CUSTOM & CULTURAL HERITAGE. OUR IDENTITY IS IN LANGUAGE,WHEN LOST ANOTHER CULTURE EMBRACE YOU AS SECONDARY. MODERN DAY POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM IS CORRUPT AND INCOMPETENT. WASTE !!!!!

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