A legal practitioner, Mr Peter K. O. Mensah, has urged traditional rulers to jealously guard and uphold the new Chieftaincy Act (Act 759), since it placed the institution on a more dignified status and devoid of governmental interference.
“Chiefs must regard the new Act very well because it brought back the dignity associated with the institution. With the new Act, chiefs must now stand firm since the law is supporting you. When you are able to do that, the chieftaincy institution will stand the test of time” he stressed
Mr Mensah said this when he presented a paper on the topic: “The tenets of the law”, at a two-day workshop for members of the Upper West Regional House of Chiefs in Wa.
The workshop was organised by the National House of Chiefs, with support from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS).
Commenting on the involvement of chiefs in mainstream politics, Mr Mensah, who is also the counsel for the Brong Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs, stated that the institution was so sacred that considering the manner in which politics was practised in the country, no revered chief could withstand it.
“Chieftaincy is an institution which we will enjoy respecting”, adding there is the need for the respective chieftaincy institutions such as the regional and national houses of chiefs to work to come out with a code of ethics for chiefs in order to streamline their activities.
The Senior Programme Manager of KAS, Mr Isaac Owusu-Mensah, said the deliberations would pave the way for the chiefs to assess the tenets of the new chieftaincy act and respond to it appropriately.
Mr Owusu-Mensah also indicated the need for a documented code of ethics for chiefs to guide their actions.
“ As a national body which is duly recognised by the 1992 Constitution, it is time a code of ethics with its appropriate sanctions were developed to guide the conduct and behaviour of chiefs across the country irrespective of ones traditional area” he emphasised.
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