TRADITIONAL RULERS ATTEND WORKSHOP (PAGE 23)

ABOUT 100 traditional authorities, made up of divisional and sub-chiefs, queens and elders within the Duayaw Nkwanta Traditional Area in the Tano North District in the Brong Ahafo Region, have attended a sensitisation workshop on the ascertainment and codification of customary law on land and family law in Ghana.
The workshop formed part of a series being organised under the Ascertainment of Customary Law (ACL) Project jointly established by the National House of Chiefs (NHC) and the Law Reforms Commission (LRC) as a pilot in 10 traditional areas in the country.
The objective of the project is to find out the customary law, rules and practices relating to land and family in communities in selected traditional areas.
The selected areas are Offinso in the Ashanti Region, Duayaw Nkwanta, Brong Ahafo; Eguafo, Central; Akuapem, Eastern; Kpone, Greater Accra; Gonja, Northern; Paga, Upper East; Kaleo, Upper West; Asogli, Volta and Lower Axim in the Western Region.
The German Development Co-operation (GTZ) has so far provided about 900,000 Euros to support the project, which started in 2006 and is expected to end in 2009 for the 10 areas after which other traditional areas would have their turn.
The National Research Co-ordinator of the ACL, Mr Thomas Tagoe, and a member of the Joint Steering Committee of the project, Barima Akwasi Offe Okogyeasuo, who is also the Omanhene of the Kokofu Traditional Area, took turns to explain the rationale behind the ACL to the participants.
According to Mr Tagoe, the establishment of the project was mandated by Article 272 (b) of the 1992 Constitution to “undertake customary law” and to evaluate” traditional customs and usages with a view to eliminating those customs and usages that were outmoded and socially harmful.
He said the ACL was a necessary step that sought to identify customary laws relating to land and family which were applicable in different traditional areas.
Mr Tagoe said those laws would be documented and, where possible, harmonised to enable Ghana to have unified rules for customary laws relating to land and the family.
The project co-ordinator indicated that a training workshop had been organised for field staff to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to do effective data collection in the selected traditional areas and that the sensitisation workshops were to let the people know what the project was about and its usefulness to them in particular and the country at large.
He said after the collection of data, validation workshops on the data collected would first be held at the traditional areas, then at the regional level and finally another one at the national level.
Barima Okogyeasuo urged the participants not to hesitate to give out whatever information they had when enumerators came around, since the output of the project would lead to the documentation of customary laws of the land for use by individuals, the courts, academic institutions and communities, among other entities.
He further stated that when the project was completed, there would be a reference point for customary land and family law, help minimise land disputes in Ghana, strengthen the legal system and make access to land easier for investors.
The participants showed a lot of enthusiasm and expressed their individual expectations about the outcome of the project, pointing out that the final document would stem the incidence of teenage pregnancy, disrespect for the elderly and all forms of social vices.