Flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia is advocating for the review of the Chieftaincy Act to involve chiefs in the governance system of Ghana.
The Vice President was speaking during an interaction with the Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs as he begins the second phase of his Bold Solutions Campaign Tour.
According to him, it is a wrong for chiefs to be sidelined in governance, something that has persisted since independence.
The Vice President bemoaned how chiefs cannot take decisions in their own jurisdictions, therefore the law must be reviewed to gives more power.
“The other major policy I want to bring is that if you look at the trend since Independence, it looks as if Nananom has been sidelined in the governance of the country, and it is a problem. So I want us to review section 63 (D) of the Chieftaincy Act to give more powers to the chief, so that chiefs can help government in the governance of the country” he said.
He continued that “Even managing your areas becomes difficult without the powers. So we will change the law to give you more powers”.
Dr. Bawumia also said allowances paid to chiefs must be increased and therefore his manifesto committee will soon come out with a policy where chiefs will be paid allowance they can live on to enable them discharge their duties effectively.
“The Manifesto Committee is coming with a recommendation that will soon be unveiled. We will pay the chiefs living allowances. Allowances they can live on because we want you to have the resources that you can work” he added.
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