The National House of Chiefs has proposed to be placed directly under the Presidency at Jubilee House, arguing that its current administrative arrangement under a government ministry undermines its constitutional independence and effectiveness.
The call was made when the leadership of the House appeared before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Chieftaincy, Culture and Religious Affairs.
President of the National House of Chiefs and Paramount Chief of the Sefwi Anhwiaso Traditional Area, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II, said the institution has, since the PNDC era, been moved between different ministries and is currently under the Ministry of Local Government — a situation he says affects its autonomy.
He explained that being placed under a ministry exposes the House to shifting policy directions depending on the government in power.
To address the challenge, the House is proposing that it be placed directly under the Presidency on an interim basis at Jubilee House, with a dedicated budgetary allocation similar to other independent constitutional bodies such as the Electoral Commission.
Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II stressed that the move would strengthen the institution’s independence and enable it to carry out its constitutional mandate without political interference.
“Why should we be working under a ministry in the first place? Currently, we are under the Ministry of Local Government. So you realise that, depending on the policy direction or the thinking of the government in power, we are often moved around.
“We are not happy about that. That is why we are recommending that even before we are made fully independent as a body and granted budgetary allocation, as is done for, say, the Electoral Commission or any other commission, we should be placed directly under Jubilee House because we are an independent body,” he said.