Traditional rulers urged to stay out of politics
The paramount chief of the Essikado Traditional Area in the Western Region, Nana Kobina Nketsia V, has urged traditional rulers to stay out of partisan politics, as the practice does not promote peace in society.
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“We need peace to solve the problems that confront us as a nation and traditional rulers must spearhead this cause,’’ he said.
Nana Nketsia was speaking at the annual peace symposium of the Rotary Club of Accra last Monday.
The symposium, dubbed: “The Role of Traditional Rulers in Local Government Administration and Peace”, was aimed at highlighting the importance of the chieftaincy institution to nation-building.
Nana Nketsia said chieftaincy was a sacred institution that epitomised unity in society.
Therefore, he said by promoting the interest of a particular political party, a chief “will not have the moral authority to effectively lead and unite his people”.
“If we really know the meaning of our titles, then we will not take sides,” he said, adding that a chief was like the sun whose rays were supposed to fall on everybody, for which reason a chief could not say that he preferred one political party to another.
Social space
While urging traditional rulers who engaged in partisan politics to desist from the practice, Nana Nketsia also admonished politicians who exploited traditional rulers to their advantage to avoid that.
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“Sometimes I do not blame such chiefs because they sometimes need resources to conduct their activities, a situation that is sometimes capitalised on by politicians. For example, because of lack of resources, some chiefs even solicit for funds to celebrate their festivals,” he said.
He noted that politicians were also not giving chiefs the social space to freely conduct their activities, adding that “nowadays social gatherings have been hijacked by politicians”.
Local government
With regard to the local government system, Nana Nketsia said the administration of the country had not been fully decentralised, saying, for instance, that sometimes contracts meant for the regions were awarded in Accra.
That, he said, was adversely affecting national development.
In his closing remarks, the Chairman for the event, Mr S.K. Boafo, a former Minster of Chieftaincy and Cultural Affairs, underscored the need for the public to respect and uphold the chieftaincy institution, since chiefs were the custodians of culture and traditions.