Among concerned citizens of this dear nation of ours who daily decry the spate of chieftaincy disputes, a great number of them are wont to make an appeal for the establishment of a Code that will spell out the mode of succession in traditional areas.
The thinking is that with the codification of the lines of succession, the question of who succeeds a departed chief will no longer be in doubt.
The Times has had cause to add its voice to this call, seeing as it is the only fool-proof mechanism, once it is accepted, to end the dark days of stool wars.
Unknown to all the advocates of the codification document, the process of compiling a code of succession was actually started. That is news to many. The bigger news is that the process had stalled as far back as four years ago – because there is no money.
Disclosing this in an interview, the Director of Chieftaincy at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture told the Times yesterday that the lack of funds had rendered the Ministry incapable of dealing with the numerous chieftaincy disputes in the country.
This is an interesting revelation because scores of well-meaning Ghanaians have shouted their voices hoarse, advocating that serious attention be given to the codification process. Ironically, these advocates include ministers of state.
The advocacy has gone on for years, outdating both the immediate past and current governments. It is a good cause to fight for because a code put together after exhaustive consultations with recognized heads of the various clans and kingmakers in all the traditional areas of Ghana cannot but be fool-proof.
The code is expected to establish the lines of succession in all traditional areas.
Once it is inaugurated after the stakeholder consultations, it will be the one and only document to which all litigants must be referred.
It will be THE document to which all judicial committees of the various houses of chiefs, magistrates and justices of the superior courts of judicature will refer in all cases of succession disputes.
The code would be the last word on succession.
We are under no illusions that the compilation of such a code will be herculean; but it is a task that is not impossible to tackle and overcome.
The question that confronts Ghanaians, however, is: where are we going to get the money to ensure the continuation of such a noble exercise? The answer to this question can be answered only by another question: how important is such a document to the powers-that-be?
Apparently the issue of financial resources is a big one indeed; so big, we are told, that when the various committees of the Houses of Chiefs sit in arbitration, the allowances due them are not paid because “the ministry is cash-strapped” As a result, the meetings are now less frequent.
No wonder the various traditional areas are boiling with stool disputes, some of them so serious that they end in bloodbaths.
The thinking is that with the codification of the lines of succession, the question of who succeeds a departed chief will no longer be in doubt.
The Times has had cause to add its voice to this call, seeing as it is the only fool-proof mechanism, once it is accepted, to end the dark days of stool wars.
Unknown to all the advocates of the codification document, the process of compiling a code of succession was actually started. That is news to many. The bigger news is that the process had stalled as far back as four years ago – because there is no money.
Disclosing this in an interview, the Director of Chieftaincy at the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture told the Times yesterday that the lack of funds had rendered the Ministry incapable of dealing with the numerous chieftaincy disputes in the country.
This is an interesting revelation because scores of well-meaning Ghanaians have shouted their voices hoarse, advocating that serious attention be given to the codification process. Ironically, these advocates include ministers of state.
The advocacy has gone on for years, outdating both the immediate past and current governments. It is a good cause to fight for because a code put together after exhaustive consultations with recognized heads of the various clans and kingmakers in all the traditional areas of Ghana cannot but be fool-proof.
The code is expected to establish the lines of succession in all traditional areas.
Once it is inaugurated after the stakeholder consultations, it will be the one and only document to which all litigants must be referred.
It will be THE document to which all judicial committees of the various houses of chiefs, magistrates and justices of the superior courts of judicature will refer in all cases of succession disputes.
The code would be the last word on succession.
We are under no illusions that the compilation of such a code will be herculean; but it is a task that is not impossible to tackle and overcome.
The question that confronts Ghanaians, however, is: where are we going to get the money to ensure the continuation of such a noble exercise? The answer to this question can be answered only by another question: how important is such a document to the powers-that-be?
Apparently the issue of financial resources is a big one indeed; so big, we are told, that when the various committees of the Houses of Chiefs sit in arbitration, the allowances due them are not paid because “the ministry is cash-strapped” As a result, the meetings are now less frequent.
No wonder the various traditional areas are boiling with stool disputes, some of them so serious that they end in bloodbaths.
