The former Finance Minister and Governor for the Bank of Ghana, Dr. KwabenaDuffuor has dropped hints of his return into political life following his assertions regarding the significance of the empowerment of chiefs, in an article authored by him that was published in the Business and Financial Times on Monday, September 6, 2021.
In the article, the Former Minister recounted how indispensable the chiefs and traditional authorities have been in his service to the motherland and how appreciative he was about their roles in the administration of the country.
He indicated that, the traditional and chieftaincy system has lost the ability to support itself, and the rippling effects that this has on the country as a whole.
“The loss of our nation’s chief’s power has resulted in social problems, a youth detached from tradition and morals, depopulation of our rural areas as well as both economic and spiritual poverty. We as a people need our traditions, they are the core of our great nation, and abandoning them means abandoning the soul of Ghana.”
Dr. Duffuor recounted how the replacement of the architecture and administrative structure of the chieftaincy institution with a modernized democratic structure has resulted in consequences which are bedeviling the nation today and advocated for the need to embrace our traditions and maximizing the knowledge from traditional knowledge. He however indicated how his return to political life will be characterized by a welcoming of our traditional cultures and values, drawing from his past experiences in public service.
“As I take my official steps back into Ghanaian political life, I want to do so embracing our traditions and values, drawing from my decades of experience in public service. I am convinced that we need our chiefs and that their authority and responsibility should be restored and under my leadership, this issue would have top priority.”
He advocated for a new partnership that will see the chiefs being put in charge of 20% of revenue generated from their communities to augment their responsibilities of providing care, as well as the provision of community institutions and infrastructure.
This, he argued, will make the chiefs answerable to government while at the same time, give them back their status as well as a sustainable source of income which will inure to the prosperity and development of their communities. Additionally, national problems like Galamsey, among others will be solved when chiefs are empowered.
“Through an empowerment of the chiefs we would get local solutions to national problems; such as Galamsey, roads and a variety of social problems. A stronger chieftaincy would also have much larger socio-economic benefits as a growing and more prosperous rural landscape would stop the rampant depopulation of our countryside and see the return of commerce, schools and sustainable investment”, he wrote.
His planned cooperative efforts with the chiefs will breathe life into the country, and help bring a new decentralized focus to development, making it more national and realistic. His assertions have however raised speculations about his political future and whether there are prospects of him facing John Dramani Mahama in the build-up to the 2024 Presidential Elections.
