A former Finance Minister Dr. Kwabena Duffuor has urged the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to work to restore the authority and effectiveness of traditional rulers for national development.
According to him, the NDC must include the empowerment of chiefs and traditional rulers in their manifesto to show how seriously they take the institution as partners in development.
“I, therefore, propose to the NDC that the restoration of the authority and responsibility of our chiefs should have top priority in a future NDC government, and this should be clearly encapsulated in the manifesto we will be putting before the people at the next election.
“The next NDC government should enter into a renewed partnership with our nation’s chiefs and give them a fraction of all revenue generated from their communities, so they have the opportunity to care for their people, community institutions, and infrastructure while also being answerable to the state government,” the former Governor of the Central Bank wrote in an article
He continued: “Giving our chiefs back their status as well as sustainable income for the development of their local communities and its institutions would incentivize them to make sure that their communities prosper, as the community’s success is their own success and vice versa.”
Dr. Duffuor said chieftaincy institutions had long been at the forefront of governance before the arrival of the Europeans in the 15th century.
“This institution emerged from the people’s need to come together for security and protection. Thus, a chief was enjoined to protect and add value to the community through civic engagement with his people.
“Today, we are witnessing inadequate interaction between customary and modern local governance with the “constitutional sidelining of chiefs” which has led to a progressive weakening of the chieftaincy institution with its attendant national crisis.”
