CHIEFS REMINDED TO REMAIN NEUTRAL (Mirror Saturday, September 13,2008. PAGE 42)

By Benjamin Xornam Glover,
Bolgatanga

THE Chairman of the National Commission for Civic Education, (NCCE), Mr Larry Bimi, has reiterated the need for chiefs to remain neutral and guard against declaring publicly their support for political parties.
Mr Bimi reminded chiefs of Article 276 (1) of the 1992 Constitution and advised them to adhere to the provision to ensure a free and fair and peaceful election.
Article 276 (1) states “ a chief shall not take part in active party politics; and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his skin or stool”.
Mr Bimi gave the advise at a forum for chiefs and opinion leaders at Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region. The forum forms part of efforts by the NCCE to ensure peaceful elections this year.
He said it was necessary for chiefs to remain neutral because they represented the people adding that their neutrality can help them intervene in some of the minor problems that rise up in the communities.
“Chieftaincy is a dignified role as such chiefs must exude fairness and certain level of impartiality in whatever they do,” he said.
He urged the chiefs and opinion leaders to play their roles responsibly to sustain unity and peace in the area.
The NCCE Chairman, while cautioning the chiefs also called on politicians to leave the chiefs to perform their traditional roles.
He urged leaders of political parties to be well-informed about the chieftaincy institution and desist from infiltrating the ranks of chiefs with the aim of luring them to their side.
The Deputy Upper East Regional Minister, Mrs Agnes Asangalisa Chigabatia, said the institution could not serve as an honourable institution if it was full of mutual suspicion, intolerance and violence. She urged traditional rulers to take the initiative in pursuing sustainable peace.
She urged the traditional rulers to make their leadership relevant to the aspirations of the majority of the people rather than serving the interests of a few ambitious persons.
The Paramount Chief of Bongo, Bonaba Salifu Aleemyaarum, who chaired the function reminded his colleagues that peace was the pre-requisite for development and, therefore, urged them to play their roles responsibly to enhance the accelerated development of their localities.