Chieftaincy disputes in the country have been identified by the Ministries of National Security and the Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs as a major threat to peace.
During the third National Delegates Congress of the Ghana National Association of Chieftaincy Workers (GNACWO) in Cape Coast, traditional rulers in the country have been asked to help bring such disputes to an end.
The event was under the theme, “Chieftaincy Institution in Ghana’s Democratic Dispensation, the Prospect for National Development”.
The third Triennial Congress of the GNACWO in Cape Coast brought together hundreds of staff of the Chieftaincy Institution across the country.
The gathering was to assess the association’s performance in the past three years to enable it to improve where possible and applaud its feat.
The president of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, Odeefo Amoakwa Buadu VIII, praised GNACWO for helping the Chieftaincy Institution to get to its present level of development.
He used the occasion to plead with the government to help address inadequate staff facing the regional house Chiefs in the country.
The secretary to the Central Regional branch of the GNACWO, Gloria Bamfo, lauded the event’s theme, saying the nation could not realize the expected development goals if the Chieftaincy Institution and Workers in that sector were left out. She pleaded with the GNACWO membership to honor their responsibilities of paying welfare dues for the well-being of all.
Chairman of the GNACWO, Anthony Yeboah Tabri, who doubles as the Registrar at the National House of Chiefs, in his opening remarks congratulated members of the association who have been promoted since their last recruitment into the service. He used the occasion to plead with the government to employ more staff to replace vacant offices. Mr. Yeboah Tabri admonished the membership of the GNACWO to live by the civil service code of ethics by eschewing partisan politics before, during, and after the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
The Minister for National Security, Albert Kan-Dapaah, in a message that was delivered by the director of the National Counter Terrorism Fusion Centre at the Ministry of National Security, Brigadier General Tom Ba-Taa-Banah, praised traditional rulers in the country for ensuring peace, stressed the need for them to help tighten gaps in the institution that has led to cases of Chieftaincy disputes. He noted that if such cases were not addressed early enough, they could expose the nation to terrorism as the case is in the neighboring country.
Mr. Tim Ba-Taa- Banah therefore pleaded with the Chieftaincy Institution to inform the appropriate quarters if any threats that affect peace in the country are discovered. The Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, thanked the traditional institution for its contributions to peace and development.
He suggested changing the association’s name to cover religious issues with time.
He noted that his association with the Ministry of National Security and tour to the neighboring countries have proven that if care is not taken peace and security in the country would be endangered as about seventy percent of the budget earmarked for the Ministry is used to solve Chieftaincy dispute related issues.
He, therefore, pleaded with all to live by the policy “See something, Say something”. This alone, he noted will help avert possible dangers and chaos in the country.
The Paramount Chief of Welembelle Kuoro Traditional Council, Kouro Professor Stephen Bugu Kendie, took the gatherings through the history of the Chieftaincy Institution and ways of realizing the theme chosen for the congress.
