The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, has disclosed that the ministry is working on some amendments to the Chieftaincy Act, where some authority will be given to traditional leaders to adjudicate petty disputes within their catchment areas.
Section 63(D) of the Act has been disputed at the Supreme Court, preventing traditional authorities from adjudicating on matters within their catchment areas and thus limiting their scope.
Speaking on the sidelines of the royal conference organised by the Church of Pentecost at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region, Stephen Asamoah Boateng urged all to be committed to the Chieftaincy as an institution.
“The government appreciates your impact on the sound character formation of several thousands of generations of men and women in our country.
“Nananom, you administer a lot of work for the government, and in my interaction, we are amending the Chieftecy Law. In its place, we want to include some very clear authority to be given to the Nananom to be able to resolve petty disputes in your communities.
“This already exists in Act Section 62(D), but you and I know that it has been disputed in the Supreme Court, but we need to make some amendments. They will appreciate that we need to give Nananom back the authority, but it should be slightly amended, which I am working on very closely,” he stated.
The minister also indicated his ministry’s commitment to introduce the Chieftaincy Development Funds, where allowances will be given to traditional authorities to make them comfortable administering their services.
“Beyond that, we need to also look at resourcing Nananom. The central government takes resources, and some must go back if we are given responsibilities to administer on our behalf and on behalf of the people.
“So, we are proposing a Chieftaincy Development Fund, similar to the National District Assembly Common Fund, and we are also looking at giving a living allowance, not the legal money that you come for sitting. These are living allowances, which means they will be adjusted when the exchange rate or the living condition changes, so Nananom can be comfortable when they are administering the country for all of us, he added.
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