Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, has said the Ministry was working to establish a dedicated fund for the chieftaincy institution in the country.
He said stakeholders at the Ministry were presently developing a working document for the fund, which would become an independent lifeline for traditional leadership in the country.
The Minister revealed the initiative when he engaged with members of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs on Friday, and said with the needed consultations and input, the fund should be realised in a couple of months.
‘It’s about time we gave attention on our traditional leaders so they can take some responsibilities off the State. If the central fund is not reaching us, we create our own fund,’ he said.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the fund would be managed by traditional rulers, and must therefore provide the needed input for developing the fund.
He added that traditional leaders should help to also provide needed resources for its sustainability w
hile noting that it would be important for the Government to support the fund.
‘Government must fund the Chieftaincy Fund. It sounds radical but it is necessary. It is the only way the chiefs can take care of their communities without recourse to politicians’.
The Minister shared plans and visions for the institution, which he said would among others, enhance the role of traditional leaders through capacity building and training, and most importantly through the amendment of laws to boost their authority.
He said role of queen mothers would also be established, saying that they played key role in matters such as girl child education and other gender issues.
Mr. Asamoah-Boateng reiterated government’s commitment to providing befitting physical structures for the various regional houses, and said work on those for the six newly created regions would progress in earnest.
Security topped discussions at the meeting, which was the Minister’s first official engagement with chiefs in the Volta Region since he wa
s appointed last year,
He appealed to traditional authorities to take charge of security the community, and work to ensure peace and unity.
He said the authority of chiefs would be required during the coming general elections, and appealed to the Volta House to seek a permanent end to secessionist agitations.
Traditional rulers at the meeting called attention to what they said were continuing incidents of harassment at security borders and posts, to which the Minister promised to investigate and bring to address.
Source: Ghana News Agency
