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Tamale, Ghana – The Director of the Dagara Cultural Research and Documentation Centre, Joseph Ziem, has urged chiefs in Northern Ghana to appoint expert advisors to help them bring adequate development to their communities.
According to Joseph Ziem, the 21st century chief, like the president of a country, should have advisors who can adequately advise him on matters of education, health, agriculture, tourism development, water and sanitation, peace and security and youth unemployment among others in the community.
He said this is very important and until every traditional area in the north especially paramountcies consider the institutionalisation of this type of modern administrative or leadership structure, they would continue to lack resources that would bring the needed development to their communities.
“Any paramount chief or king who puts in place this type of administrative structure would definitely get the attention of the business community and the government to support him develop his community. These expert advisors can diagnose the development challenges of the community and proffer solutions. They know where to go and look for resources including funding to help their chiefs develop their communities.
“Unfortunately, many paramountcies in the North have failed to create this kind of administrative structure in the palaces of the chiefs. With the greatest of respect, even in the palaces of well educated chiefs, there’s hardly any such a structure to help the chiefs properly administer development for their people. Many of the chiefs and their council of elders also see the development of their communities as the sole responsibility of their Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and for that matter the central government” he told SavannahNews in an exclusive interview.
However, the renowned journalist who is also Coordinator of The Dagara Culture and Heritage Preservation project believes that with such expert advisors in place, chiefs would be able to do more for their communities in addition to what the MMDAs and central government currently do for them.
Going forward, Joseph Ziem who is a native of Nandom in the Upper West Region of Ghana appealed to paramount chiefs in the area to adopt the approach he is advocating and integrate it into the traditional system of governance.
“The world is fast evolving and institutions that fail to evolve with the times would die naturally. Our traditional institutions must therefore evolve. Sons and daughters from paramountcies in Northern Ghana who are experts in various fields can play vital roles at the palaces of their chiefs”, he maintained.
Joseph Ziem through the Dagara Cultural Research and Documentation Centre based in Nandom is pioneering research into many important cultural practices and traditions of the Dagara people of Ghana. The Centre is part of a broad project called the Dagara Culture and Heritage Preservation Project which seeks to promote and preserve the culture of the Dagara people.
By SavannahNewsOnline.Com
