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The National House of Chiefs:
Ghana’s white elephant
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot
Accra, April 22, Ghanadot - Even
though Ghana’s recent electoral triumph may be viewed as a
sign of political maturity, it is
no certification of its democratic credentials.
One of our governance institutions which need to be
re-looked at is the National House of Chiefs.
According to Article 276(1) of the Ghanaian constitution, “A
chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any
chief wishing to do so and seeking election to parliament
shall abdicate his stool or skin.”
However, what do we see in the country as most chiefs
belonging to the National House of Chiefs are contravening
this Article with impunity.
The latest chief, who showed his political colouration, is
the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State and President of the
Volta Regional House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, recently at
a durbar held in honour of the President of Ghana H.E. John
Evans Atta Mills in Ho, the regional capital.
He whole-heartedly pledged the total support of the chiefs
and people of the region towards supporting the plans and
programmes of the National Democratic Congress (NDC)
government, saying “We believe development is a shared
responsibility and we the chiefs and the people of the Volta
Region will do our best to make the task ahead easier. We
owe it to ourselves and future generations. We want to be
part of the process of change; we want to be part of part of
the solution to our problems”.
Togbe Afede XIV, then read strong
worded text messages purported to have been sent him by the
residents asking the Mills administration to reward them for
their support in the December 2008 general elections.
“The Volta Region is not a World
Bank, we are the king makers,
“Please let the president know that we of the Volta Region
trust him, that is why we will not remind him of his
promises to us,” some of the text messages read.
According to the paramount chief, “for the past eight years
they were made to feel like outsiders,” and called on the
new government to stem the tide.
The Volta Region contributed immensely to the electoral
victory of the NDC in the December 2008 elections.
Because of this unpopular statement, Togbe Afede XIV
received a lot of castigations from all spheres of life,
including the main opposition party, the New Patriotic
Party.
Instructively, Togbe Afede XIV, is a member of President
John Evans Atta Mills Economic Advisory Team, a member of
the Bank of Ghana and was the head of the Government
Economic Team all these are pointer to the fact, the noble
paramount chief is flirting with the current government.
Last year, the immediate past President of the National
House of Chiefs, Odiniho Gyepong Ababio was caught in the
same web.
His offence was that he stood on a campaign platform of the
NPP rally in the Ashanti Region pledged his support for the
party.
Whilst chiefs are increasingly showing their political
affiliations, the National House Chiefs seems unconcern
about it.
These developments have led our chiefs to
lose the necessary respect of the public and
to call them all
sorts of names such as “stomach
politicians” and others which are unprintable.
These scenarios have led Ghanaians to question the potency
of the National House of Chiefs. One may therefore ask when
the National House of Chiefs would be
effective as an institution for civil good.
Ghanadot
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