Baffour Owusu Bediako, the Paramount Chief of Domeabra Traditional Area in the Asante-Akim North District, has strongly advocated for the inclusion of traditional authorities in politics, as key stakeholders in national development.
He argued that chiefs should be able to scrutinise policies of political parties without conflicting with Article 276 of the Constitution, because the policies of any party that would be elected to form the next government, would directly affect the people that chiefs lead. "There is, therefore, the need that the right policies that will be of greater benefit for the people are supported," he said at a peace symposium organised by the Ashanti Regional Peace Council in Kumasi.
The symposium, which brought together key stakeholders such as political parties, security agencies, students, religious leaders, media, and the Electoral Commission (EC), was in commemoration of World Peace Day on the theme, "Cultivating a Culture of Peace".
Baffour Bediako said chieftaincy had evolved into an institution with both traditional and modern dimensions, and that it was a key institution around which the government could build its development programmes.