Asantehene Ends Visit To Sierra Leone
By Marian Samu
The
Asantehene of Kumasi, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II,
left the shores of Sierra Leone over the weekend
after a five-day official visit to Sierra Leone,
from 26th April to 30th April 2005. Otumfuo
Osei Tutu II was in Sierra Leone on an invitation
by President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah.
The
Asantehene was special guest at the 44th Independence
Anniversary reception held at State House in
Freetown on 27 April. The main reason for the
visit of the Asantehene was for him to serve
as an honoured guest of the government and principal
resource person at a special programme for the
empowerment of Paramount Chiefs, which was held
in Bo, the regional headquarter town of the
Southern Province, on 29th April 2005. At the
special programme, the Asantehene held a meeting
with Paramount Chiefs from the 149 chiefdoms
in Sierra Leone.
Giving
his address at the opening ceremony, the President
Alhaji Dr. Ahmad Tejan Kabbah expressed appreciation
to the Asantehene for honouring his invitation
to serve as principal resource person to the
supremely important event, stating that the
event was a major part of efforts in charting
the way forward to further improve the country's
Native Administration system.
President
Kabbah noted that though this system has been
in existence for a very long time there has
been very little effort to align it with the
profound changes that have taken place in our
society. Such an omission, the President noted,
must have had the effect of our losing the opportunity
for the kind of positive impact this unique
institution would have had an our people. He
said that the event therefore marks the beginning
of the first ever major effort to reform and
strengthen the Native Administration system
so that it can meet the aspirations of our Nation.
President
Kabbah, however, called on the Asantehene to
include in his deliberations the issues on revenue
collection by chiefdoms, certain traditional
practices that may lead to conflicts in chiefdoms
and the overall management of Chiefdoms including
conditions of service for Paramount Chiefs and
other employees.
The
President stated that it is his fervent belief
that the deliberations of the meeting will lead
to the development of appropriate policies and
strategies that will enhance the smooth implementation
of the reform and strengthening of chieftaincy
institutions in Sierra Leone.
Speaking
on the history of chieftaincy in Sierra Leone
and its legal framework, the Vice President,
Mr. Solomon Berewa, traced the evolution for
chieftaincy in Sierra Leone from pre-colonial
to post-colonial days. He also said that the
institution of Paramount Chieftaincy is entrenched
in the constitution of Sierra Leone.
Vice
President Berewa among other things reiterated
that Paramount Chiefs are elected for life and
they can only be removed from office by the
President, as stated in the constitution, for
gross misconduct, and not for any other reason.
Presentations
were also made by representative Paramount Chiefs
on the "Present Structure of Chieftaincy,"
"The relationship between the institution
of chieftaincy and the central and local government
structures," and the "Management of
the Affairs of Chiefdoms at Chiefdom level".
The presentations were made respectively by
P.C. Rev. Dr. J.S. Yovonie, Regional Secretary
General, Council of Paramount Chiefs, South,
P.C. I.B. Kamara-Koroma, National Secretary-General,
Council of Paramount Chiefs, and P.C. Mohamed
Dafe Benya, Regional Secretary-General, Council
of Chiefs, Eastern Region.
In
his address, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu
II, expressed gratitude to President Kabbah
and the people of Sierra Leone for the warm
reception and hospitality accorded him and his
delegation since their arrival in Freetown and
Bo. He thanked President Kabbah for inviting
him to share some thoughts with the Paramount
Chiefs in order to chart a way forward for the
institution of chieftaincy in Sierra Leone aimed
at further improving the Native Administrative
system.
The
purpose of the meeting, the Asantehene said,
is for them to look at the role of traditional
leaders in the governance of modern day Sierra
Leone. To this end, the Asantehene reminded
the Paramount Chiefs that the chiefs of today
cannot act like their predecessors in pre-colonial
times, because they are neither military leaders
nor are they heads of the legislature, but stated
that they have a social contract with their
people and should therefore work with elected
politicians to promote social and economic development
of their communities. He also told the chiefs
not to forget the fact that they are discussing
chieftaincy matters in a continent bedeviled
by insecurity, ignorance, poverty, greed and
underdevelopment, and therefore urged them to
be adequately informed about the African Union
and NEPAD so as to enable them play positive
roles accordingly.
Among
other things, the Asantehene explained that
like in Sierra Leone, chiefs among the Ashantis
in Ghana are elected for life but on recommendation
by the Queen Mother and through matrilineal
lineage. And because they are elected for life
and have a social contract with their people,
they as traditional leaders are more concerned
with the total long-term development of their
communities. Unlike elected politicians who
think about the next election, he said, they
as traditional leaders have to think about the
next generation. But at the same time, he added,
they need to build mutual respect with politicians
in order to co-exist as partners in development.
The
Asantehene further gave a detailed explanation
of the workings of the traditional system of
governance as they existed in pre-colonial Ghana,
as well as in the modern democratic State of
Ghana. He also told Paramount Chiefs to initiate
development programmes in their chiefdoms to
improve the welfare of their people in areas
such as education, health, agriculture, trade,
economic and social development. These programmes,
he said, are not intended to replace those provided
by the central government, but rather complement
them especially when the demands of the people
are such that it is unrealistic to expect that
they can all be met by central government resources.
He highlighted some of the development projects
undertaken by him in the areas of education,
health, trade, water and sanitation, including
a scholarship fund run by his wife.
The
Asantehene and delegation were earlier on welcomed
to Bo by the Paramount Chief of Bo, Kakua Chiefdom,
P.C. Rashid Kamanda-Bongay IV.
-End-
