Details

Queries as to the line of succession are more often than not a source of conflict in traditional areas, even leading to violence with accompanying deaths. After completion of the research, the results of the 16 areas have to be reconciled and put together in a consistent report that later can be used for the drafting of legislative instruments in the 16 traditional areas.

Background

Chieftaincy Research in 18 Traditional Areas in Ghana

Chieftaincy is one of the cherished traditional institutions in Ghana. It has played both positive and negative roles in the development of Ghana. KAF in its bid to harness the positive roles of the institution to foster national development, is continuing its sponsorship of a research programme which started in 2005 covering 18 Paramount Stools / Skins within the Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.

KAF in conjunction with the National House of Chiefs is undertaking this programme which consists of the collection of field data in the form of administration of questionnaires as well as organization of debriefing workshop to collate, analyze, and assess the data for the purposes of codifying the lines of successions to Paramount Stools / Skins in the Country. These lines of successions are major sources of conflict in Ghana.

The sponsorship of this research programme is imperative considering the view that disputes over succession to chieftaincy is on the ascendancy in the Country, in January 2006 for example there was a major conflict in Bimbila in Northern Ghana stemming from improper succession.

The reports on the data derived from the research would be processed by the Research Committee of the National House of Chiefs and converted into Legislative Instruments applicable to the respective Traditional Areas, Stools / Skins so as to diminish the occurrence of nasty chieftaincy conflicts which cost the country so much of the scarce resources at the expense of vital development needs.

Chieftaincy Project moves to phase Four

Within the above framework, the National House of Chiefs is organizing a workshop to write a report on data collected on 18 traditional areas. This workshop is being organized with a view to processing field data which has already been analyzed by the participants of an earlier debriefing workshop held in Kumasi.

The purpose of the workshop is to finalize and prepare 18 written reports on the research in the phase 4 of the on-going National House of Chiefs Research Project that is a programme meant for the codification of lines of succession to stools and skins in 18 traditional areas. National House of Chiefs with the support of KAF conducted a research into the appropriate lines of successions to various stools which has been one of the main sources of conflict in Ghana. The phases of the project are:

Phase >> Activity

One >> Training of Research Officers and Field Staff

Two >> Field Research at the traditional areas

Three >> Debriefing by Research and Field Staff

Four >> Report Writing

Five >>Legal Drafting of reports into legislative instruments in respective traditional areas

Six >> Validation of Legislative instruments by appropriate traditional councils