The Minister for National Security, Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah, has warned that chieftaincy disputes pose a growing threat to Ghana’s democratic stability, highlighting the need for urgent attention and effective solutions to mitigate their impact on national security and social cohesion.
He indicated that chieftaincy disputes, in particular, remain a thorny internal security threat that must be permanently dealt with. He revealed that chieftaincy disputes are a significant portion of the daily situational reports received at the Ministry of National Security.
However, he noted that despite Ghana’s location in a volatile sub-region afflicted by both terrorism and political instability, the country has so far managed to remain peaceful and stable.
“Internally, however, several threats that have the potential to undermine our peace and stability persist and these include land and chieftaincy disputes, a case in point is the protracted Bawku conflict, farmer-herder conflicts, electoral violence, and cybercrime”
Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah
As such, he indicated that the potential for such chieftaincy disputes to degenerate into violent confrontations compels the government to constantly dedicate considerable amounts of resources to the mitigation of such threats.
He emphasized that these resources could have been better allocated to other productive sectors of the economy, rather than being perpetually diverted to maintain peace in areas plagued by chieftaincy disputes, thereby hindering economic growth and development.
Moreover, the Minister stressed the fact that Chieftaincy remains a useful aspect Ghana’s culture and heritage.
He however indicated that without the adoption of non-violent and peaceful mechanisms to address differences, disputes emerging from Chieftaincy will continue to threaten the country’s peace and stability.
He explained that the State through its traditional security and intelligence architecture continues to implement measures to address the numerous security threats that confront the nation.
Traditional Security Inadequate
However, Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah noted that the efforts of the traditional security and intelligence agencies alone are inadequate to preserve the peace and stability of the nation due to the hybrid and unconventional nature of the security threats confronting the country.
He explained that it was for this reason that the National Security Strategy of Ghana adopted the whole-of-government and the whole-of-society approach, the first of its kind launched in 2021, to mitigating security threats that have the potential to undermine peace and stability.
“Within the context of the whole of government approach, all stakeholders especially the Civil Service have a critical role to play. What, therefore, is the role of the Civil Service in safeguarding the peace and stability of Ghana? Human beings are indeed gregarious and we remain the only mammals that require prolonged periods of nurturing within a familial system to guarantee our survival”.
Hon. Albert Kan-Dapaah
Moreover, he indicated that by humans’ gregarious nature, they operate through familial systems and converge to form communities. This communal living, he emphasized, is extended into the formation of state systems characterized by a defined territory, a defined population and the presence of a central government led by an elected President who is entrusted with the responsibility of managing the affairs of the State.
He further noted that within the context of Statehood, it has become customary for an elected Presidents to work with a body of non-elective and non-partisan officials who work behind the scenes to support the government in the enactment and implementation of policies aimed at delivering public goods and services to the citizenry- the provision of public goods and services being the primary objective of any government.
He asserted that security in Ghana is crucial for maintaining national stability, protecting citizens’ lives and property, and safeguarding democratic values, economic growth, and social cohesion.
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