NATIONAL: Naa Nabila in call for chieftaincy reforms

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The President of the National House of Chiefs, Naa Professor S. Nabila has entreated chiefs to adapt to the circumstances of modern day and avant-garde society so as to make the chieftaincy institution relevant and momentous.

He said the upsurge of pockets of chieftaincy related conflicts, clashes and skirmishes around the country if not checked would gradually and steadily leave the institution redundant.

Naa Nabila made these observations at the on-going second Africa Sister Cities International Conference in Accra.

He said there was a dichotomy between the modern sector and the chieftaincy institution explaining  that “In Ghana for example, there is a three tier system of authority which constitutes the institution of chieftaincy as recognized by the 1992 Constitution of Ghana”.

He said it was therefore relevant for Traditional Rulers to focus and decide on what they needed to do so that they could make meaningful contribution to the development of their respective communities.

Naa Nabila noted that the 2005 Country Review Report and Programme of Action of Ghana of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) was emphatic with regard to the recognition of the role of traditional authorities particularly in relation to the performance of decentralized administrative systems.

He said chiefs must therefore remain active participants in and constructive contributors to the process of decentralization, democratization and sustainable development.

Naa Nabila commended the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and the Global Sister Cities International for their respective roles in packaging the conference.

The conference will through lectures and panel discussions on chieftaincy and local government laws in Africa, adopt a position paper that would direct country advocacy through the Sister City Foundation in Africa to get appropriate government agencies to resource traditional authorities.

On the sideline of the conference, are trade and exhibition to showcase the craftsmanship of the ordinary people who have supported the chieftaincy institution in Africa and its role in the preservation of the cultural heritage of the peoples of Africa and the Diaspora.


Ghanadistricts.com/PF

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