Chieftaincy minister warns chiefs

Minister for Chieftaincy and Traditional Affairs, Dr. Henry Seidu Danaa, has cautioned chiefs to, as matter of urgency, desist from the habit of polluting water bodies by way of selling lands that link rivers in the country.

Rather, the minister called on chiefs to work in collaboration with the security agencies to deal with all illegal human activities that pollute water bodies.

Speaking on GTV on Monday, December 29, 2014, Dr. Danaa observed that the act of polluting rivers was “customarily unacceptable” since human beings depended on water.

Dr. Danaa, who was speaking on the subject: “Legends of Our Time,” expressed worry that in spite of the role that water plays in the existence of human beings, some chiefs tend to be blindfolded and sell lands that connect water bodies for mining and building purposes.

Against this background, he charged chiefs to work hard, be law abiding and contribute positively towards the socio-economic development of the country, stressing that “without hard work the country stands to collapse.”

When asked about measures he had put in place to solve chieftaincy disputes, Dr. Danaa noted that his outfit has taken a number of steps to address problems besetting chieftaincy in the country.

He said his ministry has launched a code of ethics for chiefs and also directed all Regional Houses of Chiefs to advertise in the media the position of a counsel and make their recommendations to his outfit after interviewing the applicants.

According to him, his ministry was liaising with the ministry of justice and attorney-general to speed up the process of acquiring permanent counsels for the Regional Houses of Chiefs which for a long time have been without the services of lawyers.

Dr. Danaa also disclosed that there were plans to organise training workshops for chiefs together with senior and junior staff of his ministry to help to strengthen the chieftaincy institution.

He said the objective was to improve the performance of the officers by sharpening their knowledge on the Chieftaincy Act and the chieftaincy practice in general.

The minister said currently his ministry, in collaboration with the ministry of justice and attorney general, was processing 15 Draft Legislative Instruments (LIs) to be laid before Parliament to be passed into law regarding the Lines of Succession to Stools/Skins.

“Considering the fact that the chieftaincy institution was the bedrock of Ghanaian culture and heritage, the importance of the smooth running of the chieftaincy administration cannot be over-emphasised,” he underscored.

He said for that reason government would leave no stone unturned in an effort to strengthen the machinery of chieftaincy, the Houses of Chiefs and the traditional councils.

He appealed to chiefs to continue to discharge their constitutional mandate of adjudicating cases as well as serving as repository of tradition and wisdom.

He said: “It is therefore the policy of the government to work hand-in-hand with chiefs to ensure that this great institution plays its rightful roles in our modern economic and political development.”

He said chieftaincy was still very relevant, adding that, “let us not relegate it to the background.”

He further called on chiefs to be fair and transparent in the discharge of their duties.

According to the sector minister, any attempt to downplay the relevance of chieftaincy would have serious ramifications for the country.