Council of State and Traditional Councils: Relevance; Reform or Abolish?

“Councils” are advisory bodies, whose advice are not binding and may be ignored…

The Council of State is supposed to advise the President of Ghana while the various Traditional Councils advise the Chief…

Many Ghanaians have called for the abolition of the Council of State which has nothing to show for the heavy drain on the public purse.

The Council of State was modeled along the lines of an upper chamber but has over the years become largely a rubber stamp and run errands for the President.

The Traditional Council are creations of central government its registrars appointed by the government.

The Traditional Councils do not own land as erroneously portrayed by some and often misrepresent themselves as representing the various Stools or Skins;

The Chief is the recognized Head of a Tribe, hailing from the appropriate royal or ruling family, selected and enstooled or enskinned in accordance with custom and tradition.

The Traditional Councils are headed by the Chiefs and have a membership comprising other sub-chiefs and elders varying as per nuances of the Traditional area.

The Katamanso landmark judgment was categorical about the locus of the Traditional Council and their lack of capacity in Land cases when it threw out the Traditional Council when it attempted to misrepresent itself as the Stool in Land matters…

There can exist ONLY ONE STOOL or SKIN in any Traditional area which can only be occupied by ONLY ONE CHIEF at any point in time.

The Stool is distinct from the Traditional Council and is express in the Constitution and its allocation of revenue to the two entities.

Government recognises the above fact, and in accordance with that fact rightfully laid a template for the orderly return of State Lands to the Original Land Owners in an Executive Instrument.

When Government decided to return State Lands to the Original Land Owners in Ashanti Region by an Executive Instrument (E. I. 432); Government did not return the land to the Asanteman Council but rightfully to the Asantehene in trust for the Subjects of the GOLDEN STOOL.

Government further directed all government institutions to wind down and hand over the buildings on the Land to the Stool and for all residents having private property on the land to atone tenancy to the GOLDEN STOOL and pay Ground Rent which it used to pay government to the STOOL not the Traditional Council.

Similarly, all State Lands due for return in Accra are to be returned using same template, so all La Lands acquired by the State for specific purposes and durations due for return are to be returned to the La Mantse in trust for the Subjects of the LA STOOL and atonement of tenancy and payment of Ground Rent must be paid to the LA STOOL.

Government has however, often abused the Traditional Councils which  are supposed to be the link between the Government and the Chiefs and rather used them as conduits to undermine the Chieftaincy institution which is guaranteed under the Constitution.

Classic cases are the botched attempts by the government to return parts of State Lands acquired for use by the Civil Aviation Authority.

La Lands at Adenta acquired for Civil Aviation purposes were “declassified” by Lands Minister, Nii Osa Mills were annexed by individuals including Clemence Gyato and Charles Owusu under Lands Minister Peter Amewu…

Similarly, a portion of the controversial Cantonments Civil Aviation Land was purportedly returned to the La Stool through an illegal Memorandum of Understanding signed by then Lands Minister Asoma-Cheremeh which was taken over and shared among faceless developers was opposed by Civil Aviation workers and citizens of La.

The current Lands Minister, Samuel Abu Jinapor claimed to have had the Cantonments Civil Aviation Landgrab investigated yet has refused to make the Report on the Cantonments Civil Aviation Land public.

The Ghana Police Service conducted an investigation into the alleged ownership of portions of the Cantonments Civil Aviation by the First Lady, Rebecca Akufo-Addo’s; stating that it was untrue yet the Police has refused to name those stealing the State|Stool Lands and demolition the State Bungalows for private development.

The New Land Law, ACT 1036 entreats all involved in Land transactions to be transparent and imposes a fiduciary duty of accountability on Chiefs and Government officials who may in breach of ACT 1036 are liable to a fine of up to Ghc180,000 or a prison term or both.

The Council of State’s advice on matters of Chieftaincy and Land related cases choking our Courts and Police Stations will be worth looking at to assess their relevance or uselessness amid the growing calls for scrapping the Council of State.

The Council of State has an interesting composition including a President of the National House of Chiefs and a Former Chief Justice as well as a Former Inspector General of Police; thus their advice to the President on the above matters even if ignored by the President must be made public so the Ghanaian taxpayers who pay for their upkeep can determine their fate, and decide on the scrapping or reformation of the Council of State…

Ironically two former Chief Justices, a former IGP, a former Speaker and several other high profile personalities were fraudulently allocated State Lands and thus on the long list of living Land Looters…

Ghanaians are resolved to be Citizens and not Spectators thus will demand retrieval of all looted State Lands and Bungalows; and return to the Original Land Owners as has been done in the Ashanti Region.

#StopLandLooters

#ReturnStoolLands

#FixTheCountry

By Prince-Derek Adjei