Traditional Authorities and Development in Ghana

Traditional Authorities and Development in Ghana A case study of Asante and Akyem Abuakwa Kingdoms By Prince Lawrence Baffoe A Research Paper submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts In International Affairs with Specialization in African Studies Carleton University Ottawa-Ontario, Canada ©2017 Prince Lawrence Baffoe

ABSTRACT The relevance of traditional leadership in facilitating social and economic change and state building in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is a highly contested matter. This study seeks to explore how traditional leadership has been integrated into mainstream development efforts in Ghana. Using the case study of two prominent traditional leaders, Otumfuo and Osagyefo, the paper seeks to elucidate the nature of conditions that must be present for traditional leaders to be effective in supporting grassroots development efforts, while also examining the ways in which the institution of chieftainship itself has adapted in response to social, economic and political demands of the 21st century. The paper draws on newspaper reports (n=142) on social and economic contributions of these two chiefs to development efforts in Ghana covering the period from 2010 to 2016. The data were then manually grouped under: social development, economic development and peace and security. The findings suggest that, given appropriate conditions, traditional leaders can play a vital role in facilitating desired social change. In particular, the study found that the institution of chieftainship itself is modernising under the weight of the 21st century demands and expectations, and that a measure of political and economic independence from the government is vital for chiefs to be able to assess, articulate, and advocate for the needs of their subjects, administer community development projects, and act as stewards of government and civil society initiatives at the local level. The findings indicate that given the necessary conditions, traditional leaders will serve as the missing link in delivering grassroots development in SSA. Keywords: Traditional Leaders, Development, sub-Saharan Africa, Ghana, Otumfuo, Osagyefo

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT To my late grandmother, Ama Takyiwaa, who saw potential in me growing up in my village in Ghana. Even though she never had the opportunity to go to school herself, she foresaw this day coming and dedicated her time and resources to make this possible. I owe it all to you. Many Thanks Nana! I would also like to thank my research supervisor, Professor Yiagadeesen (Teddy) Samy, Director of the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA) at Carleton University. Whenever I ran into trouble writing this research, his door was always open to me. He wanted me to completely own this paper and consistently steered me in the right direction whenever he deemed necessary. One of my favorite comments/suggestions from him is “can you make this section more analytical?” Thank you Prof. Samy. I would also like to acknowledge my research advisor, Professor Paul Mkandawire, Associate Director of the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University. Sir, I sincerely do appreciate your invaluable comments on this research. I must also express my very profound gratitude to my wife, Mrs. Shirley A. Baffoe and my children for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study. Lastly, and most importantly, I would like to acknowledge the giver and sustainer of my life, God Almighty. Indeed, your plans for my life are good.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................................. I ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...................................................................................................................... II 1

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 OBJECTIVES ............................................................................................................................................... 4 Overall Objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4 Specific objectives .................................................................................................................................. 4 1.3

STUDY CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................. 5

Historical Overview of Traditional Leadership in Ghana .................................................................... 5 Definition of Development ..................................................................................................................... 8 History of Asanteman (The Asante Kingdom) ...................................................................................... 9 History of Akyem Abuakwa (Abuakwa Traditional Area) ................................................................. 14 2

LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................. 16

3

METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 23 3.1 CHOICE OF STUDY CHIEFS .......................................................................................................................... 23 3.2 CHOICE OF STUDY PERIOD AND THEME......................................................................................................... 24

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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION .................................................................................................... 30 4.1 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: EDUCATION, HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT .............................................................. 32 A.

Education ..................................................................................................................................... 32

B.

Health .......................................................................................................................................... 40

C.

Environment ................................................................................................................................ 44

4.2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: AGRICULTURE .................................................................................................... 50 A.

Agriculture ................................................................................................................................... 50

4.3 PEACE AND SECURITY: ......................................................................................................................... 52

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A.

Conflict Prevention ...................................................................................................................... 55

B.

Conflict Resolution ....................................................................................................................... 60

5. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS ............................................................................... 64 6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................. 70

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A.

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................................ 70

B.

RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 71 APPENDICES ................................................................................................................................... 74

7.1 APPENDIX A: THE DYNASTY OF ASANTEMAN FROM 1670 TO PRESENT ............................................... 74 7.2 APPENDIX B: THE DYNASTY OF AKYEM ABUAKWA FROM 1700S TO PRESENT ..................................... 75 8

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................... 76

LIST OF TABLES TABLE 1: ODA TO GHANA BY SECTOR IN 2014 (IN USD MILLIONS) .................................................................. 26 TABLE 2: ANALYSIS OF NEWS PAPER ARTICLES BY SECTOR ........................................................................... 64

LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1: ASANTEMAN ADMINISTRATIVE HIERARCHY ................................................................................. 13 FIGURE 2: THE 5 DIVISIONS OF AKYEM ABUAKWA ........................................................................................ 14

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1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

This research paper examines how traditional leaders have been integrated in the process of socio-economic development in postcolonial Ghana. In particular, it examines the social and political conditions that should be present for traditional leaders to be successful in promoting social development, economic development, and peace and security. In this study I focus on the case of two traditional leaders in Ghana, the Asante King and the Akyem Abuakwa King, to demonstrate the adaptability of traditional chieftainships to social, economic and political conditions of the twentieth century and discern some of the broader factors that have allowed these two chiefs to more successfully spearhead socioeconomic development within their jurisdictions. In the process, I also examine how the institution of chieftainship itself has been transformed by social, economic and political circumstances of the twenty-first century. Generally, the notion of traditional leadership is seen as “old fashioned” and out of touch with the modern form of democratic governance. Adewumi and Egwurube (1985), for instance, defined traditional leadership as: “individuals occupying communal political leadership positions sanctified by cultural mores and values, and enjoying the legitimacy of particular communities to direct their affairs, which includes the whole range of inherited culture and way of life; a people’s history; moral and social values and the traditional institutions which survive to serve those”. Such a definition presupposes that traditional leadership is antithetical to democratic values because this system of authority derives its legitimacy from tradition as opposed to the people. Scrutinising the validity of this claim, 1

research shows that traditional leadership has been under intense pressure to change and has therefore evolved and adapted to the demands of the times (Hinz, 2003). Historians have also argued that traditional leaders derive their authority from customs and not traditions. Keulder (1986) for instance sees custom and tradition as very intertwined, but custom is generally more flexible than tradition as it is more useful in facilitating change in society. Hobsbawm and Ranger (1983), two British historians, best illustrated the difference between custom and tradition by likening a custom to what judges do and tradition to the wig, robe, formal paraphernalia and other ritualized practices surrounding their substantial action. In this regard, it can be said that the way Ghanaian kings dress (Kente clothing with native sandals) is a tradition whiles their function is a custom as it has evolved from conquering more territories through wars to now collaborating with the Central Government and the International Community to bring development to their people. This presupposes that tradition imposes fixed and formalized practices whereas custom is open to change and innovation. Custom is therefore a usage or practice common to a particular group of people or place and because it is flexible, it enables traditional leaders to adapt to changes. Custom can be a new practice. Tradition on the other hand is a custom that has been passed down from generation to generation. This means that if custom is passed down for generations, it becomes a tradition. Therefore, traditional leaders are more customary leaders than traditional ones as they blend modernity with traditions. In fact, in postcolonial Ghana, there is not much that is traditional about traditional leaders as many of these so-called “Traditional Leaders” are Western educated, belong to Christian denominations, speak and understand the English language and are actively involved with foreign governments and multilateral institutions 2

in tackling global challenges. These phenomena suggest a change in the outlook of traditional leaders in Ghana. Hence, traditional leaders in Ghana straddle between two worlds as they are simultaneously custodians of local custom and embodiment of Western values. As pointed out by Keulder (2010), what distinguishes traditional leaders from other types of leaders is that they are appointed by members of a relatively closed community, usually defined in terms of some form of ethnic criteria, and that they are appointed by means of the legitimate customs of that community. What is unique about the process of choosing traditional leaders in Ghana is that it is not done based on partisan politics which sometimes turns to be divisive and acrimonious. Instead, the leader is selected from the ‘royals’ who are generally believed to be the first settlers and therefore owners of the land. Basil (1992), on the other hand is of the view that, until Africa’s traditional institutions are fully restored, there can be no meaningful socio-economic development in Africa. While it is common to have a democratically elected leader providing development activities to the citizenry as seen in most western countries, it is similarly possible to have the same activities provided under constitutional monarchy, as is the case in Lesotho, Swaziland and Morocco. In the case of Ghana, both democratic leadership and monarchs in various paramountcy’s (traditional areas under one king) live side-by-side. It is in the light of this that in this paper I contend that the dualistic structure in which questions about the relevance and utility of the traditional leadership are often framed is also often part of the problem. In other words, asking whether or not traditional leaders are useful is not the most conceptually useful way of understanding their importance in modern democracies and states because it ignores the complex nature of power in the twenty-first century African societies. Rather, my research focuses on investigating the nature of sociopolitical 3

conditions that must be present for traditional leaders to be effective in their role as facilitators of grassroots development. 1.2 Objectives Overall Objectives Overall, the paper examines the social and political relevance of chieftainship structures in bringing about socioeconomic development in Ghana as a way of reasserting the continuing significance of chiefs in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA). Using a case study of two longstanding chieftainships in Ghana, the paper seeks to critically assess the interaction between chieftainship structures on the one hand and the modern state and global actors on the other as a way of gaining insights into the nature of conditions that must obtain for traditional leaders to perform optimally on the national stage. Specific objectives 1. Examine qualities that traditional leaders must have to be effective leaders in a democracy 2. Examine how the institution of the chieftainship has been modified in response to the social, economic and political demands of a democratic society 3. Examine the attributes (ascriptive and achieved) of the institution of chieftainship in modern day Ghana 4. Examine overlaps and divergences in the interests of traditional leaders and state actors

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1.3 Study Context

Historical Overview of Traditional Leadership in Ghana

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana defines a traditional leader as “a person, who, hailing from the appropriate family and lineage, has been validly nominated, elected or selected and enstooled, enskinned or installed as a chief or queen mother in accordance with the relevant customary law and usage” (Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, 1993). Ghana’s traditional leadership structure is hierarchical. At the base are the clan heads (Abusuapanin). These clan heads are chosen from the various clans in the village/town, with the clan head from the royal clan serving as their head. Next and above the clan head is the village or town chief, also known in the Akan dialects as the “Odikro”, literally the head of the village or the town. He also rules with sub-chiefs from the various clans. The next in the hierarchy is the “Omanhene” or the paramount chief, usually the traditional leader at the district level. All village/town chiefs report directly to him. At the apex is the head of a tribal group, such as the King of Asante. This structure is well decentralised with a direct chain of command (see Figure 1 on page 13 for a typical hierarchy of Ghana’s traditional leadership structure).

In focusing on the two chosen kingdoms for this study, I prefer instead to use indigenous titles for the chiefs. Thus, the use of “chief”, “traditional chief”, “traditional authority”, “traditional ruler”, “traditional leader”, “chieftaincy” etc. will now be replaced with Otumfuo for the king of the Asante (Asantehene) in most cases, and Osagyefo for the king of Akyem Abuakwa (Okyehene). These titles, Otumfuo and Osagyefo are attached to their 5

stool names1 (Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II). The titles Otumfuo means “All Powerful” and Osagyefo means “Redeemer”. In instances where Omanhene is used, it is in reference to a paramount chief of a traditional area. Note that in both kingdoms, once a new king is selected, it is required that he changes his name and adopts a “stool name”. The reason behind this practice is to put the mistakes and enemies that he may have made before ascending the throne behind him. He must become a new person, hence, he picks one of the names assigned to the stool (usually used by predecessors). Historically, Ghanaian traditional leaders have had an ambiguous relationship with the colonial and post-colonial state. During the precolonial era, only those who were genealogically related to the founders of the village/town and paramountcy could ascend to the throne. In instances where there were multiple potential candidates for the chieftaincy position, selection was made purely on merit qualifications. Where no single family/lineage could establish undisputed claims, a system of rotation whereby the successor would be chosen from the competing houses in turns was preferred (Arhin, 1985). During the pre-colonial period, chiefs wielded executive, legislative, and judiciary powers. They were responsible for the maintenance of good order in their States and were the guardian of the fundamental values of their people and mediated between them and the spiritual forces (Adjaye and Buba, 2006). Some of the functions of pre-colonial chiefs 1

Stool name is a regnal name, or reign name, used by monarchs during their reigns, and used subsequently to refer to

them. The Asantehene’s stool name is “Otumfuo Osei Tutu II”, and that of Akyem Abuakwahene is “Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II”. The stool name can also mean the name of the stool the king occupies as in ‘Sika Dwa’ for Otumfuo and ‘Ofori Panin stool’ for Osagyefo

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include but are not limited to allocation of land for farming and residence, provision of peace and security to their subjects through the Asafo groups (traditional army), administration of tributes (taxes), settlement of disputes, forming alliances with other chiefs through inter-marriages and many more. Appendices A and B show six (6) precolonial chiefs of the Asante Kingdom and seven (7) pre-colonial chiefs of the Akyem Abuakwa kingdom from 1670 to 1799 and 1704 to1790 respectively. As Busia (1951, p. 15) observes, “the chief had to keep strictly the injunction that he was to act only on the advice of his elders.” As long as the chief maintained the respect and cooperation with his privy council, he was recognised as their chief. Any act that violated the tradition of his people, warranted his destoolment. During the colonial era, the colonizer (the British in the case of Ghana), recognised that it would be cheaper and convenient to rule the colony through the already established and well structured traditional administration. They indirectly ruled the colony by adding to the powers of some existing chiefs and creating new chiefs outside of the royal families with the motive of getting their loyalties. The practice of indirect role gave the chiefs powers beyond their traditionally assigned limits. Chieftaincy was thus corrupted under colonialism and was no longer accountable to the populace (Tunde, 2002; Kilson, 1966). When the nationalist movement began, the nationalists (educated subjects) did not see eye to eye with their chiefs. The reason for this is not far-fetched. According to LaVerle (1995), in response to the demands of the educated Ghanaians to elect Ghanaian representation in the central government, Gordon Guggisberg, the British governor in Gold Coast (now Ghana), through the 1925 Constitution which was promulgated by himself, created provincial councils of paramount chiefs, which in turn elected six chiefs as unofficial 7

members of the Legislative Council. The intellectuals believed that the chiefs, in return for British support, had allowed the provincial councils to fall completely under control of the government hence the animosity between them and the chiefs (McLaughlin and OwusuAnsah, 1994). The post-independence government reinforced the authority of the central government but withdrew recognition from chiefs. It then arrogated to itself the task of elevating or demoting any chief (Independence Constitution, 1957). According to Rathbone (2000), the post-independence government further gave itself the powers to act as the ultimate arbiter in chiefly matters. Thus, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, systematically took power away from chiefs during this era. He appointed top executives of his political party, the Convention People’s Party (CPP), to run development related matters in the towns and villages across the country. The following quote from Nkrumah best captures the relationship between him and the Nananom (chiefs) “Those of our chiefs who are with us [...] we do honour [...] those [...] who join forces with the imperialists [...] there shall come a time when they will run and leave their sandals behind them; in other words, chiefs in league with imperialists who obstruct our path [...] will one day run away and leave their stools (cited in Gocking, 2005: 94). It should be noted here that the clientelism of chieftaincy institution, as seen at the early part of Nkrumah’s speech further corrupted chiefs and made them less or no longer subject to accountability to the populaces. Definition of Development Development has traditionally meant achieving sustained rates of growth of income per capita to enable a nation to expand its output at a rate faster than the growth rate of its population. However, this study will define development as consisting of the removal of 8

various types of “unfreedoms” that leave people with little choice and little opportunity of exercising their reasoned agency (Sen 1999). This study uses Amartya Sen’s view on development because it is consistent with the communitarian nature of the African way of life (extended family system for example). Thus, putting people at the centre of development and seeking their collective good would promote shared material and nonmaterial well-being, trust within society, citizen participation in decision making processes, and the accountability of State/government officials to the general public. This means that if for instance traditional leaders are involved in the provision of education to the people, the latter will be free to make informed decisions based on their ability to read. History of Asanteman (The Asante Kingdom) Appendix A depicts the history of the Asante Kingdom, starting from its foundation to present. Pre-colonial Asante (sometime spelt Asanti or Ashante/Ashanti) were a fragmented ethnic subgroup of the Akan-speaking people of present day Ghana. In the 1670s, the Asante king, Osei Tutu I unified the independent paramount chiefs (Amanhene) into one strong military and political Asante kingdom. The king then made Kumasi the capital of the new kingdom and created the Golden Stool, as a representation of the ancestral spirit of all Asantes. Power resided with the pre-colonial Asante king (Asantehene) from 1670 to 1799. Currently, the Asantes are a major ethnic group in Ghana. Their dynasty is undoubtedly the most powerful, well structured and constituted traditional body in Ghana (Figure 1, p.13). The current Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is the 16th Asantehene.2 He 2

http://asantekingdom.org/about/personality-profile/

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ascended the Golden Stool on 26th April 1999. As a confirmation of my earlier assertion that there is not much traditional with these post-colonial monarchs, the current king of the Asantes has a degree in Human Resource Development and Public Administration with the University of North London, (now London Metropolitan University). Indeed, education has become one of the prerequisites in the selection of monarchs from a royal family in recent years in Ghana. The reason being that the educated monarch will be more effective in the twenty-first century. Asantehene’s kingdom is inhabited by 4.8 million people, according to the 2010 population census in Ghana.3 It occupies a total land surface of 24,389 km (9,417 sq. m), which is 10.2 per cent of the total land area of Ghana and it is the most densely populated region in Ghana.4

Figure 1 below shows Otumfuo as the head of the Asantes. Directly under him is the

Ohemmaa (Queen Mother) who nominates and advises the King. Next on the hierarchy are ten (10) Amanhene (Paramount Chiefs), who are the heads of the component states of the Asante Kingdom. Their names depict their functions during pre-colonial and colonial era as the Kingdom fought many battles to protect and expand its territories. For instance, Ankobea division (Ankobeahene), protected women, children and the palace while the other divisions are on the battlefield. In recent years, however, the Kingdom has declared war on poverty as there is relative peace in the kingdom and Ghana as a whole. The Asantehene himself has stated that “the true challenge of development in Africa is in the rural areas not the urban areas. These rural areas which consist of majority of the

3

http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/pop_by_region_district_age_groups_and_sex_2010.pdf

4

http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/eng/list_of_ghanaian_regions_by_area

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populace in most African countries are not touched by the modern conveniences of the urban areas. The people in these rural areas look up to their chiefs and elders to usher in development, settle their disputes, allocate land, offer financial support to the needy, and indeed fill the gap that the resources of most modern governments with their numerous challenges cannot meet”.5 Is this a mere rhetoric? This paper seeks to find out how successful the kingdom has been in bringing development to its people. Each of the Amanhene is autonomous in the ruling of his state. However, the Asantehene’s development initiatives cover all the population in his kingdom (as his priority) but in some instances, such as the award of scholarships to brilliant but needy students, it covers the entire country. Below the paramount chiefs (Amanhene) are the Odikro and the Obrempon. Odikro rules over a single town or village, Obrempon on the other hand rules over a number of scattered villages in the Kingdom or a single town with historical importance. The Odikro is assisted to rule the town/village by sub-chiefs who are selected from the various clans in the town/village. The sub-chiefs are then followed by the headmen of the clans in the town/village. These headmen are called Abusuapanin (Head of the clan/family). Note that each level of the hierarchy has its queen mother (Ohemmaa) who performs same functions as that of the Ohemmaa of Asantehene at their levels. However, the female counterpart of the Abusuapanin is referred to as Obaapanin. It should be stated that due to the vastness of the Asante Kingdom, relative to the Abuakwa kingdom, more resources by way of royalties, contribution from Asantes abroad, donations from multi-lateral businesses such 5

http://asantekingdom.org/history/the-role-of-modern-traditional-chiefs-in-development-in-africa-2/

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as Guinness Ghana Limited and many more are made available to the Asantehene. Such huge amount of resources makes it possible for the Asante kingdom to embark on many development initiatives. Again, the kingdom boasts of (is home to) one of the top Universities in Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, which attracts, trains and retains best professionals to contribute to the development of the kingdom. Also, the Asantehene himself uses his education to his advantage by surrounding himself with equally competent paramount chiefs and expert within his kingdom to help him not only to lobby domestic and international corridors of power for support in his development initiatives, but also to efficiently use the resources for the benefit of his people. Moreover, Kumasi, the seat of the Asante kingdom, has all the facilities of a modern urban city, thereby attracting people from all over Ghana and around the world. Such large population in Kumasi serves as a market for investors who in turn contribute to the monarch’s development efforts. Most of the aforementioned are not seen in the Abuakwa kingdom. For instance, people in Kyebi (the seat of the Abuakwa kingdom) would rather migrate to Accra (capital of Ghana) or Kumasi in search of jobs, leaving only their dependents (elderly and children) behind. These factors may account for some of the variations that are likely to be observed between the two kingdoms.

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Figure 1: Asanteman Administrative Hierarchy

Source: Author’s own construction with data from Manhyia (http://asantekingdom.org/about/division-in-asanteman/)

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History of Akyem Abuakwa (Abuakwa Traditional Area) Akyem Abuakwa is the largest single traditional state in Ghana under the name of Okyeman Traditional Authority. Unlike the case of the Asante, the two other Akyem states, Akyem Kotoku and Akyem Bosome, are completely autonomous and do not owe any allegiance to Abuakwahene (King of Abuakwa). The administrative set up in the Abuakwa state is the same as that of the Asante Kingdom in Figure 1 above. There are five divisions who pledge allegiance to the king of Abuakwa (Okyehene). Figure 2 below illustrates that.

Figure 2: The 5 Divisions of Akyem Abuakwa

Adonten Division

Benkum Division

Nifa Division OKYENHENE

Oseawuo Division

Gyase Division

Source : (http://www.slideserve.com/bikita/the-royal-akyem-kingdom)

Okyeman traditional area is made up of over 800 towns with an estimated population of about 1.2 million according to the 2010 population census of Ghana and occupies 14

approximately 1, 870 square miles (ibid). The capital of Okyeman is at Kyebi (also spelt Kibi), from where the king (Omanhene) rules (see Appendix B).

Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, who is the present Omanhene, was enstooled on 5th October, 1999 at a ceremony at the Ofori Panin Fie in Kyebi. He became the 35th Okyenhene, succeeding his late brother, Osagyefo Kuntunkunuku II. He pledged to bring development in the areas of education and child welfare (child abuse and parental irresponsibility), health, and environment. Here is a quote from his coronation speech “the success of my reign is dependent totally on my ability as your leader to ensure that our future – our children – is really secure” (Coronation speech, October 11th, 1999).6 Prior to ascending the throne, he was an Insurance broker in the United States of America. Appendix B shows the history of the Akyem Abuakwa kingdom, starting with Ofori Panin I, who is believed to have led his people to their current settlement.

Figures 1 and 2 stress political centralization as a key dimension of pre-colonial institutions in both kingdoms. These kingdoms were and still are predominantly inhabited by their specific ethnic groups, and the presence of chiefly hierarchy spells out a clear chain of command which further makes local chiefs accountable to higher-level traditional authority. Pre-colonial chiefs (see appendices A and B) used these structures to bring development to their people. With this structure still in place, post-colonial governments and other development agencies could foster policy coordination and implementation with them, leading to faster adoption of Western policies and technologies (Schapera, 1970). 6

https://kingosagyefuopanin.wordpress.com/about/

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The rest of the paper is organised as follows. Chapter two reviews relevant literature to the study. Chapter three deals with the research methodology. In chapter four, the paper will focus on the discussion of the results of the data collected for the study. Chapter five will summarize and analyse the findings, while the final chapter six concludes and gives recommendations.

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LITERATURE REVIEW

The relevance of traditional institutions (chieftaincy) to the development of Africa is a highly contested issue in the post-colonial literature. Two major competing schools of thought can be identified in this discourse. Those who are very skeptical contend that chieftaincy is anachronistic, a hindrance to the development and transformation of the continent, undemocratic, divisive, and costly. Some of the arguments advanced in support of this viewpoint are: that chieftaincy has been corrupted by the colonial state and by the clientelism of the despotic post-colonial state and is, thus, no longer subject to accountability to the populace (Kilson, 1966); populations under traditional authorities, as in South Africa during the apartheid regime, live as “subjects” rather than as citizens of the State, and democratic governance would not be achieved while such systems continue to exist (Mamdani, 1996; Ntsebeza, 2005); that chieftaincy heightens primordial loyalties as chiefs constitute the foci of ethnic identities (Simwinga, quoted in van Binsberger, 1987); that chieftaincy impedes the pace of development as it reduces the relevance of the State in the area of social services (Tom Mboya, in Osaghae, 1989); and that the hereditary nature of chieftaincy renders it incompatible with democratic governance, which requires competitive elections as one of its cornerstones (Ntsebeza, 2005). 16

Ribot (2001), for instance, completely dismisses all West African traditional leaders as being corrupt, selfish and undemocratic based on some West African studies which he then generalized to Ghana. In his view, therefore, chiefs are thus not worthy partners in the implementation of development projects. Indeed, participation in development by traditional leaders comes with its own problems (see, for example, Ntsebeza, 2003) but such problems are not peculiar to chiefs. Is it not possible to bring the same charges of corruption, selfishness, or unfair elections against some elected and civil service leaders of democratic Ghana? According to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index, the democratically elected government of Ghana has an average score of 47 from 2012 when it was elected into office to 2015 (where scores 100= very clean and 0= highly corrupt). Ghana currently ranks 56 out of 168 countries, indicating that the level of corruption in Ghana falls below the international average.7

In as much as well researched and documented cases of abuse of power by chiefs should be taken seriously, traditional leaders should be judged by what they themselves actually do instead of being stereotyped as being engaged in negative activities that thwart development efforts. What this claim fails to recognise is the fact that chiefs continue to enjoy a high level of loyalty today, especially from rural populations as they still view their chiefs as their legitimate cultural representatives (Oomen, 2005). The legitimacy of the chieftaincy institution stems from the fact that the people see it as the prime custodian of their culture. The chieftaincy institution is held in high esteem and also perceived, in Donkoh’s words as the “embodiment of the spirit of the ancestors and a link between them 7

http://www.transparency.org/cpi2015#results-table

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and the living community” (Donkoh, 2005). Again, it is also regarded as providing a reasserted sense of belonging as well as a powerful agent of social cohesion and harmony (ibid). In Ghana today, legitimacy roots of the population are divided between the post-colonial state and the traditional leaders. While Ghanaians look up to the post-colonial state for policy related issues, they also are of strong conviction that certain matters such as settlements of land disputes are best dealt with by their traditional leaders as custodians of their culture. This has resulted in a situation where “the division of the different roots of legitimacy would create a shared legitimacy as the traditional authorities and the postcolonial state add together their legitimacy to promote more and better development” (Ray, 2004). This shared legitimacy (divided sovereignty, according to Ray, 1996) was acknowledged by ministers of local government for the African members of the Commonwealth in 1995 (Ray, 1997). Proponents on the other hand argue that traditional institutions are the embodiment of Africa’s history and culture. They also reflect the continent’s political and governance systems and are therefore indispensable in Africa’s development trajectory. This view attributes the ineffectiveness of the African State in bringing about sustained socioeconomic development to its neglect of traditional institutions and its failure to restore Africa’s own history (Basil, 1992). Dore Dale (2001) for instance, asserted that large amount of effort and resources could be wasted on poorly conceived initiatives, in situations where policy neglects history, culture, and social context. For instance, the neglect for local peculiar context was flagged as one of the areas to be taken into consideration in making Official Development Assistance more effective in Africa at the 18

Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Paris Declaration and its subsequent Accra Agenda for Action.8 This means that the attempt by governments and other development agencies to bring development to Africa will yield better results if traditional rulers and the institution of chieftainship is recognised and incorporated into their development plans and implementation efforts. This position is supported by Fallers’ (1955) view that political and economic development would be more successful when rooted upon widely shared institutions and cultural values. It is quite obvious that there are divergent views on the relevance of traditional institutions. Mengisteab (2006) attributed this situation to the failure of scholars to draw a clear distinction between the responsibility and behaviour of actors who exercise authority and the components of traditional institutions that refer to customary laws, political values, and rules that govern socio-economic interaction. There is agreement, however, among both skeptics and proponents that the role and function of chiefs was significantly influenced by colonial and post colonial States. Considering both extreme positions, the question of how democratic government and traditional leadership can work together for the development of the people is very crucial to this paper. Meanwhile, Ghanaian post colonial literature is saturated with various reports of chiefs being involved in development activities. Ray (1992, 1996, 1997, 2003a, 2003b), Arhin (1985), Owusu-Sarpong (2003), Ray et al (2004), Donkoh (2005) and others have indeed witnessed such activities. For example, Donkoh (2005) recorded, among others, the following: 8

http://www.oecd.org/dac/effectiveness/parisdeclarationandaccraagendaforaction.htm

19

a.

Okyenhene, Ofori Atta I, acknowledging the importance of education, established the Abuakwa State College (high school) together with a Scholarship Scheme to serve the people in his kingdom in the 1920s. This initiative has brought quality education to young brilliant Akyem Abuakwa citizens as well as others throughout Ghana who are currently contributing to Ghana’s development.

b.

Chiefs gave out land grants and also organized communal labor to early Christian missions and the Central Government in the construction of school buildings and health centers as well as the provision of potable water and much later electricity in their respective traditional areas.

Moreover, the following forums confirmed that African traditional institutions played and continue to play an indispensable role in Africa’s development: 

“Conference on the Contribution of Traditional Authority to Development, Human Rights, and Environmental Protection: Strategies for Africa.” (van Rouveroy, van Nieuwaal and Ray eds., 1996).



The International Association of School and Institutes of Administration’s (IASIA’s) research project on local governance and development which cooperated with the Traditional Authority Applied Research Network (TAARN). This was funded by the International Development Research Centre of Canada (IDRC), (Ray & Reddy, 2003).



The Botswana symposium on traditional leadership, local government and development, organized by the Commonwealth Local Government Forum (CLGF) (Ray, Sharma and May-Parker, 1997).

20

The above quotes suggest that rather than structuring the questions of the relevance of traditional leaders in dualistic terms, a more appropriate question is perhaps trying to understand the circumstances under which traditional leaders are most effective in supporting the social and economic needs of their people. As a confirmation of the importance of traditional institutions, the post colonial state has created the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs, which has institutionalized and firmly established important political governance functions for the traditional leaders (Ray, 2003). Christian OwusuSarpong (2003) established that traditional leaders act as intermediaries between their people and the government ministries. Again, both Owusu-Sarpong (2003) and Ray (2003) agree that traditional leaders possess their own unique sources of political legitimacy and authority, and so to ensure an effective achievement of development goals, the co-operation between post-colonial state and traditional leaders is necessary. Finally, framers of the 1992 constitution of Ghana recognised the importance of traditional institutions. For example, Article 270(1) guarantees the institution of chiefs and its traditional councils and also Article 270(2) (a) provides that “Parliament shall have no power to enact any law which confers on any person or authority the right to accord or withdraw recognition to or from a chief for any purpose whatsoever”. An interesting paradox in the constitution, however, is that while Article 276 (1) states that: “A chief shall not take part in active party politics and any chief wishing to do so and seeking election to Parliament shall abdicate his stool or skin (as in Northern Ghana)”, Article 242(d) provides that the President has to consult traditional authorities who happen to be chiefs in appointing members to District Assemblies. This has added to the chiefs’ power as politicians lobby these chiefs to get political appointment. 21

In examining the involvement of Ghanaian chiefs in social, economic and political development in Ghana, Ray et al (2004) used Ghanaian newspaper reports to track chiefs’ involvement between 1995 and October 2003. The authors concluded that substantial number of chiefs in Ghana are promoting development. While the paper reported many instances of involvement of chiefs in development, there was an over generalization of their performances in the selected thematic areas. For instance, on education, the paper cited isolated cases of their involvement in the provision of educational infrastructure, funding and access. The issue of focus and variation within various traditional areas were rarely fleshed out. In order to avoid generalization from isolated cases, this paper will use the chosen cases to critically examine and analyse consistent and varied performance (development initiatives) of the selected chiefs. By so doing, the paper will provide a more focused and nuanced analysis of the interaction between the chieftainships and state actors and how their interests are aligned. In terms of education for example, the paper will compare the involvement of these chiefs from 2010 to 2016 to ascertain a pattern and focus. Again, the paper will extend the sources of data collection beyond newspaper reports to include the official website of the two chosen traditional authorities and other reliable secondary sources, where necessary. It should be noted here that, in order to track how these leaders are complementing the central government in bringing development to the people, this paper focuses on the development activities undertaken directly by Otumfuo Osei Tutu II (the current Asante monarch) and that of Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panin (sitting Akyem Abuakwa monarch). Development works by their paramount chiefs (Amanhene) and town/village chiefs (Odikros) in these two kingdoms fall beyond the scope of the paper.

22

3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Choice of Study Chiefs In examining how traditional leaders have been complementing the central government’s efforts to bring development in Ghana, and the extent of their success, as mentioned earlier, I chose two prominent traditional leaders, the Asantehene (King of the Asantes) and the Okyehene (King of Akyem Abuakwa) for this study. The choice of these two kingdoms was influenced by several factors. First and foremost, both traditional areas are endowed with more natural resources than most of their counterparts. The Asante kingdom is noted for its rich gold endowment. According to AngloGold Ashanti, a gold exploration, mining and marketing company based in Obuasi, a town in the Asante kingdom, total gold production from the Obuasi mines was 460,000 ounces in 2012.9 Akyem Abuakwa traditional area, on the other hand, is also noted for diamonds. It is estimated that about 301,000 carats of diamond are mined annually in Akwatia,10 a town within the Abuakwa kingdom. These traditional leaders customarily own these lands and so receive royalties, due the fact that their kingdoms abound in natural resource, from the central government to embark on development projects. Secondly, the two traditional authorities also feature high on the agenda of international organizations. A case in point is the World Bank’s ‘Promoting Partnerships with Traditional Authorities Project’ in Ghana. Under this project, the World Bank provides a US$5 million grant directly to the Asanteman Council and the Akyem Abuakwa 9

http://www.anglogoldashanti.com/en/Media/Pages/reports.aspx

10

http://www.gia.edu/gia-news-research-diamonds-Ghana

23

Traditional Council, bypassing the Ghanaian government, Asamoah (2012). By this project, additional funding is made available to these two traditional leaders for improvement of the standards of health and education in their respective areas. Also, compared with other traditional areas in Ghana, these two are more structured and organised. The Asante kingdom, for instance, is the only one in Ghana that covers an entire region (province) and beyond, whiles the Akyem kingdom also boasts of being the single largest paramountcy in Ghana. As shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2, both kingdoms emphasize decentralization, direct chain of command and accountability, a pre-requisite for effective administration. Furthermore, they have a united front (speak with a common voice) which enables them to lobby for both domestic and international development projects into their traditional areas, something the other fragmented traditional areas lack. Again, both archival and oral sources place these chiefs above all others in Ghana. For instance, according to Rathbone (2000), both kingdoms vigorously resisted Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana’s attempt to reduce and eliminate traditional authorities’ powers by appealing to the British government and helping to organise opposition against the Nkrumah regime. These unique characteristics justify their selection as they give a sound foundation for the paper in analysing their performance. The findings will therefore help to justify or otherwise, the need for the donor community to make resources available to traditional leaders in Ghana for development. 3.2 Choice of Study Period and Theme This paper examines the extent to which these two chiefs are involved in development in Ghana from 2010 to 2016 inclusively. This time period is chosen in order to capture the 24

most recent development initiatives by these monarchs. The variations in their contributions in the following three sectors is specifically examined: Social Development, Economic Development, and Peace and Security. In order to effectively track the trend of traditional leaders’ participation in development in the selected kingdoms, this paper further considers the following sub-sectors under each of the stated sectors. -Social Development: Education, Health and Environment -Economic Development: Agriculture -Peace and Security: Conflict Prevention and Resolution. These three thematic areas reflect the basic development issues confronting Ghana and have been prioritized by its development partners. Table 1 below shows the flow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the prioritized sectors in Ghana from the top 10 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC) countries in 2014. Eight sectors were identified by the DAC in Ghana, however, the first three sectors (which almost capture the thematic areas of this paper) by the ranking, accounted for 94% of total ODA to Ghana in 2014 (with a whopping 65% going into social development alone). Sub-sectors classified under these three sectors by the OECD-DAC countries are as follows: Social: Education, Health, Population and reproductive health, water supply and sanitation, government and civil society, and other social infrastructure and services. Production: Agriculture, forestry and fishing, industry, mining and construction, and trade and tourism 25

Economic: Transport, communications, energy, banking, business and other services

The focus area of the paper is narrow compared with that of the OECD-DAC. This is mainly because most of the ODA flows to the central government as opposed to the traditional leaders, which enable the former to embark on capital intensive projects. Again, given the capital-intensive nature of certain projects such as energy production and the fact that traditional leaders do not have the mandate to collect taxes from their people, it is prudent that the focus of the paper be limited to the scope listed above. Another issue this paper brings to the fore is that of peace building. Ghana has been known as an ‘island of peace’ in one of the most chaotic regions in the world (Africa in general and West Africa in particular). Have these traditional leaders played any role in bringing about the peace Ghana enjoys? The paper seeks to investigate that as well. Also, the two monarchs’ priorities as captured in their coronation speeches serve as a baseline in measuring their performances. Table 1: ODA to Ghana by Sector in 2014 (in USD millions)

Sector Social Economic Production Multi-Sector General Prog. Aid Debt Humanitarian Aid Others Total

Aid flow (USD) 687 112 188 32 26 — 3 4 1,051

Percentage (%) 65 11 18 3 2.5 — 0.3 0.4 100

Ranking 1 3 2 4 5 — 7 6 —

Sources: Author’s construction with data from top 10 DAC donor countries 11

11

https://www.oecd.org/dac/stats/documentupload/2%20Africa%20%20Development%20Aid%20at%20a%

20Glance%202016.pdf

26

My analysis uses primarily newspaper articles from the archival data of GhanaWeb.12 GhanaWeb is a portal that publishes issues mostly relating to the country Ghana. This site brings together a wide range of different media (both print and online). The paper used newspaper reports on the two traditional leaders’ contribution to the development of their kingdoms for the six (6) year period (2010-2016). Thus, Ghanaian press (Chronicle, Daily Graphic, Daily Guide, Ghana News Agency, Ghanaian Times, Ghana Review, Government News, Joy Online, Peace FM, Radio XYZ, The Statesman and other News media) form the population from which the data for this study are drawn. GhanaWeb was used as the major source of gathering information for this study for two reasons. The first is to ensure greater consistency in the collected data. A visit to the archive site provides visitors with a very comprehensive data from all the news media in Ghana dating back to 1995. Getting a central access to all these different news sites help to reduce to the barest minimum the difference between one database’s gathering program and another, hence a minimal margin of error. Also, the site makes data readily accessible. This will be explained subsequently. Note that most Ghanaian media verify these initiatives before reporting as they do not want to put the image of their media houses into disrepute. However, relying on reports from newspapers comes with its own challenges. The major challenge is where the media focuses on negative reportage of Nananom (chiefs). When the newspaper is anti-monarchical (anti-traditional), belonging to the first school of thought mentioned earlier in the literature review section of the paper, it is more likely that such 12

http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/search.php

27

paper will report mainly on the negative activities of chiefs (biased against chiefs). The question of whether such anti-monarchical or anti-traditional authority media attitudes has permeated Ghanaian newspapers was addressed by Ray et al (2004). According to them, thousands of Ghana newspaper articles reporting on chiefs suggest that most Ghanaians remain vitally concerned with what chiefs do (Ray et al, 2004). This confirms C. OwusuSarpong’s (2003) arguments that in order to understand Ghanaian political culture, traditional leaders need to be considered. There is also the issue of the possibility of development activity not covered by the media. This paper visits the official website of the Asante Kingdom,13 and the Akyem Abuakwa Kingdom,14 albeit quite limited, for any additional information on their involvement in development projects and programs.

The paper used key word search in gathering the data. If the word “Asantehene” is entered in the dialog box for 2016, 460 news items are displayed. Note that the site displays the news items by multiples of 20 until the total is exhausted. In cases where there are multiple reports on a single development initiative, only one report is considered for the study. Sifting through GhanaWeb for the needed information for this study, the paper resorted to the following keyword searches: Asantehene, Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori-Panin II, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council, and Asanteman Council. From here, the contents are manually analysed and grouped under the thematic areas of the study. By such method, the paper records all the development reports on the two chosen traditional rulers within the study period and sorts them based on their subject matters. 13

http://asantekingdom.org/

14

https://kingosagyefuopanin.wordpress.com/

28

Due to the specificity of the key words, the problems of “false positive”15 and “false negative”16, as identified by Soothill and Grover were reduced to the barest minimum. For instance, entering the word “Chief” brings up articles on “District Chief Executives” (political appointees at the District Level in Ghana) and “Chief Executive Officers” (heads of corporations in Ghana), Chief of Police and many more. All these “chiefs” constitute what is called false positive. The problem with false negative is that, there is no way to identify what the database missed, and there is therefore, no way to correct or gather those items that should legitimately be a part of the data set, (Ray et al, 2004). By using these keywords that are unique to the chiefs, both of the above problems were again minimised, thereby reducing the margin of error. The paper visits the official Websites of these monarchs for additional development activities that may not have been reported by the media.

As stated above, the GhanaWeb news archive covers newspaper reports of all that happen in Ghana on a daily basis. It helps the user with an independent source of information, and serves as the only Ghanaian news site that makes Ghana news accessible to the user as one can readily get media report on any activity in Ghana.

15

False Positives are hits that are identified by the database as falling within the search parameters, but are not related to the subject matter (Soothill and Grover, 1997). 16

False Negatives are those items that are related to the subject matter being searched but because of the way the search engine is configured or programmed, those items are not gathered or identified by the search engine, (Soothill and Grover,1997: 591).

29

4

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This section reports and discusses the findings (results) of the paper. The findings are grouped under the three themes of Social, Economic, and Peace and Security. In depth discussions are then made under the various sub-themes. It is however important to note that, both leaders, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin II, began their reigns in 1999, with a deep sense of commitment to engage the challenges facing their people. The challenges prioritised by Otumfuo are education, health, poverty, conflict resolution and capacity building. He declared war on these challenges and subsequently established foundations to complement the central government’s efforts to address these challenges. He established the Otumfuo Education Fund to generate resources, as an effort to provide opportunities for quality Primary, Secondary, Tertiary and Vocational Education in his kingdom and beyond. He also set up the Serwaa Ampem 17 Health Foundation to cater for the health needs of the people, particularly women and children. He further established the Otumfuo Charity Foundation to tackle poverty in general including education and health. With regard to peace building, (dispute settlement), he reinstituted the Asanteman council to deal with Chieftaincy and Land disputes in his Kingdom and other parts of Ghana. Okyehene, on the other hand, on his ascension to the throne, pledged to bring real development to his people with emphasis on child welfare and education, environmental protection, and improved healthcare. He set up the Okyeman Environment foundation to champion the cause of environmental protection. He 17

Serwaa Ampem happens to be the name of the Asante monarch’s mother, and the Queen mother.

30

established the “Boa Baako boa Oman” (Help to an individual amount to helping a nation) Educational fund and the Okyehene ‘Mmofra Afahye” (children’s festival) to promote quality education in his kingdom. He established the Okyeman AIDS foundation to manage the education and campaign against HIV/AIDS and to demystify the stigma associated with the disease. Both monarchs therefore share similar development challenges.

Another important thing to note is the source of funding for their foundations. Besides receiving royalties from the central government, individuals, groups, organisations and corporate bodies within and outside Ghana also contribute to these development funds. Within the study period, there were 14 newspaper reports on donations to these foundations. These were not evenly distributed as 12 out of the total went to the Asantehene. The bulk of these donations came in cash. The rest are in the form of books, computers, scholarships and equipment. For instance, an article mentioned that Samara Company Limited, producer of Sasso Insecticide Spray and Coil, donated 50,000 branded exercise books, and 50,000 customised pens to help in running the Okyeman Environment Foundation. Other items presented to the Foundation were cartons of Sasso Insecticide spray and mosquito coil, and an undisclosed cash donation, (“Okyehene lauds Sasso for supporting foundation” [Ghanaweb: PLAN Communications] 3 November, 2015). Another indicated that Profin Ghana Limited, a finance house, has donated GH¢5,000.00 (USD$2,532.92) to the Otumfuo Educational Fund, (“Profin donates to Otumfuo Educational Fund” [Ghanaweb: Graphic.com.gh] 30 August 2013). 31

Even though there was no newspaper report on the management(disbursement) of the fund, a visit to the official Manhyia site (see source mentioned earlier) indicated that the Otumfuo educational fund is managed by a 13-member Board of Trustee, and has a registered Trust Deed which stipulates all the laws governing the operation of the Fund. The Fund also has a Secretariat which undertakes the daily administration of the Fund and reports to the Board. Unfortunately, such information was not available on the Okyehene’s official website. There was no publication on actual disbursement including overhead cost at Otumfuo’s website. With regard to royalties, there was no newspaper report on the percentage these monarchs receive to implement their development initiatives. However, a study on distribution of mining wealth in Ghana reported that 45% of mineral revenue earmarked for grassroots development go to traditional authorities (Standing & Gavin, 2013). Again, there is no information on how much comes in and how the distribution is done by these monarchs . In the following, I will discuss the thematic areas of the studies, starting with the leaders’ public pronouncements 18 on development related issues under each sub theme, and further discuss their direct participation with particular attention to the differences between them and the reasons for the latter.

4.1 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT: Education, Health and Environment A. Education Education plays a significant role in a country’s development. Research by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) found that investment in 18

Persuasive/impressive speech backed up with/without action

32

education pays off in terms of higher long-term economic growth (IIASA, 2008). Educated labour force increases labour productivity, which in turn increases the output level of an economy. It also increases the capacity to innovate as educated labour force can readily use new technologies and products to promote growth. It is in this regard that the monarchs under consideration here are actively involved in the provision of education to Ghanaians.

Thirty (30) newspaper articles were gathered under this sub-section which were grouped under 3 themes: public pronouncements on education, funding (making education affordable and accessible), and quality of education. There were 5 articles out of the 30 on public pronouncement under education, 3 for Osagyefo and 2 for Otumfuo. It was obvious that both chiefs appreciated the important role education plays in development. This was demonstrated in the encouraging statements they make to their people to keep their children in school and regular advocacy on behalf of the people, calling for the attention of policy makers to problems relating to education within their kingdoms and Ghana in general. The Asante monarch, for example, registered his displeasure for the 50% failure rate of the 2014 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). He attributed the failure rate, in part, to the frequent change of the school year by successive governments and cautioned that “Our children are the victims today. But in the long run, it is the nation that will suffer. For if we fail to lay the right foundation for our children, we cannot hope to raise the skilled manpower, the men and women with the brain power to lift the national economy from the depths to which we are stuck”. (“Otumfuo: This year's WASSCE results "unacceptable"”, [Ghanaweb: Starrfmonline.com] 1 September 2014). The 33

Okyehene attributed low teacher motivation particularly at the basic schools to low salaries and appealed to the Ghana Education Service and the Fair Wages and Salaries Commission to raise teachers’ salaries to motivate them to help improve academic standards, (“Okyehene advocates better salaries for teachers” [Ghanaweb: GNA] 27 May 2014). These suggest that, as partners in development, the monarchs have the legitimacy to demand accountability from government on the behalf of Ghanaians.

There were sixteen (16) out of the thirty (30) articles on funding of education. Fifteen (15) articles reported on Otumfuo’s involvement with funding in the areas of donating books, uniforms, computers, scholarships, water reservoirs, tanks, generators and many more. One area worth mentioning is making education affordable to people with disabilities. Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol of the United Nations indicates that “States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to Education,” (UN General Assembly, 2006). I found the Asante monarch responding as a state actor to this call by donating Gh¢ 5,000.00 (USD$ 1,800) to support the Ashanti School for the Deaf through his wife, Lady Julia Osei Tutu, (“Lady Julia supports School for the Deaf” [Ghanaweb: GNA] 20 July, 2014). There were other reports on his support for vocational training, (kente weaving. 19), (“Play positive roles for quality education– Asantehene” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com.gh] 22 January 2016) and provision of scholarships to needy and/or brilliant students at all levels of education, (“Otumfuo Education Fund to support 19

A popular and prestigious silk and cotton fabric in Ghana.

34

children of May 9 disaster” [Ghanaweb: Abena Asiedua Tenkorang/ Xfm 95.1/] 10 May 2012). Furthermore, to ensure that people’s right to education in their kingdoms is promoted and to ensure that the needed skilled labour is available, both monarchs, provided lands for the establishment of universities. Otumfuo for instance, provided 200 acres of land for the establishment of satellite campus of Anglican University College of Technology (ANGUTEC) in Ashanti Region (Ofoase Kokoben), to train students in BSc. General Agriculture, BSc. Agriculture Engineering and Mechanisation, and BSc. Soil Science and Water Engineering, (“Anglican University College of Technology inaugurated” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 27 October 2013). By so doing, the monarch is showing that in the new democratic dispensation, chiefs do recognize people’s right to education and are making every effort to help meet it. In addition to giving out land, he is also aware that basic knowledge in technology can assist his people not only to access market information and sell their farm products in different locations, but also get new customers, use mobile payments to facilitate trade, and thereby empower women and rural dwellers. This explains why he constructed Information and Communications Technology (ICT) centre at the cost of GH¢200,000 (USD $71,000), in collaboration with Vital Capital Fund from Israel, to the people of Kenyase No1 (a town in his kingdom), (“Lady Julia opens ICT centre for Asutifi North” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com.gh] 17 May 2014). The ability of the monarch to woo foreign direct investment signifies an unambiguous transformation of the chieftaincy institution from some perceived privileged individuals who only benefit from tributes from their subjects to active global players in Ghana’s development trajectory. 35

Osagyefo on the other hand provided over 1,000 acres of land to Wageningen University and Research Centre of the Netherlands to establish the Okyeman University of Environmental and Agricultural Studies. This University focuses on teaching, research and extension services in the fields of Environment and Agriculture. He further converted the guesthouse of a defunct factory into the official residence for the Vice Chancellor of the University, (“Second canopy walkway goes up at Bunso” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com.gh] 11 September 2014). It may interest readers to note that this university held its maiden convocation in 2016,20 producing students with skill in agricultural and environmental studies to contribute to Ghana’s development. These initiatives from both monarchs confirm Donkoh’s (2005) earlier assertion that chiefs in Ghana give out land for development purposes. Given the 3.2% growth rate of Ghana’s population, according to the World Bank estimate in 2015 21, the donation of stool lands for the establishment of new Universities is laudable as they will make tertiary education accessible thereby easing pressure on the traditional Universities in Ghana. These initiatives imply that instead of chiefs waiting for the government to deliver development, they now see themselves as equal partners in development who must contribute something for development to take place. This indicates that the institution of chieftainship in Ghana increasingly sees itself as a duty bearer whose

20

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/regional/Okyeman-Environmental-University-not-

collapsing-Okyenhene-488277 21

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.GROW?locations=GH

36

legitimacy is tied to the ability of chiefs to serve and provide for the needs of their people.

Making education affordable and accessible is a necessary but not sufficient condition to produce the required skilled labour force needed for development. This is because, mere school attendance without motivated teachers, lack of text books among others, will not produce the needed skilled labour force. Quality education, measured by the cognitive skill learned, is very essential in producing skilled labour force. Indeed, research by Hanushek et al using data from the international student achievement test found a statistically and economically significant positive effect of quality education on growth (Hanushek & Kimko, 2000). To ensure quality education, I found nine (9) article reports on how the monarchs, especially Otumfuo has embarked on certain activities in that regard. He honoured two corporations, Tigo Ghana, developer and operator of cellular telephone services, and Edusei foundation, a not for profit foundation, for their enormous contribution towards improving the quality of teaching and learning in Ghana (Otumfuo honors Tigo’s Shelter 4 Education’ Initiative [GhanaWeb: Tigo.Ghana] 2 December 2015).

Student motivation is another area Otumfuo channelled his support. One (1) article reported that the Asante monarch announced a special award for the best engineering student at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST). He is of the view that the well-being, development and sustainability of communities depend largely on engineers (“Asantehene announces special award for best engineering student” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 26 March 2012)

37

The remaining six (6) articles on motivation for quality education were on mostly teachers and non-teaching staff who accepted postings to and are working in deprived areas of Ghana. There was one (1) in 2010, two (2) in 2011, one (1) in 2012, one (1) in 2013 and one (1) in 2014. For instance, on April 27 2011, Otumfuo honoured 200 teachers and other education workers, working in deprived schools, under his Charity Foundation. It is worth noting that the recipients were selected beyond the Asante region (“Asantehene honours 200 teachers” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 27 April 2011). This speaks to the alignment of interests between traditional leaders and state actors . The overall data on education (page 60) brought out significant differences between the monarchs. It was observed that Otumfuo’s wife, Lady Julia Osei-Tutu is actively involved in promoting ICT education and education in general for people with disability. No mention was made of the wife of Osagyefo. It is regrettable to state that, no mention is made of the participation of queen mothers in education in both kingdoms. In this day and age, when the United Nations has made gender equality ubiquitous by making it part of both the Millennium Development Goals and the current Sustainable Development Goals, it is surprising that both monarchs are not involving their queen mothers in their development initiatives. In this regard, the paper is of the view that either the monarchs have limited the roles of the queen mothers to advisory and nomination of kings or the queen mothers’ roles are parallel to that of the kings hence no intersection in their roles in this research. Again, both monarchs are making stool lands available for the establishment of Universities to serve all Ghanaians. However, there is variation in the focus of their universities. While the University in the Asante kingdom seeks to promote Agriculture 38

Engineering and Mechanisation, Soil Science and Water Engineering, that of the Akyem kingdom has Environmental and Agricultural teaching, research and extension services as its focus.

Another variation is the fact that Osagyefo’s educational initiatives are limited to his kingdom while that of Otumfuo transcends beyond the Asante kingdom. This could be as a result of limited resources on the part of Osagyefo, as confirmed by the fact that he received only 14% of the total reported donations to the foundations during the study period.

It is clear that their initiatives are having positive impact on development of education in Ghana. These activities have helped to some extent, in alleviating the financial burden on the central government to provide education infrastructure, scholarships and many more to the people. For instance, it is reported that over 5,000 students have benefitted from the Otumfuo Education Fund 22 who are now serving in various capacities in Ghana and abroad. Also, many educational institutions such as the Faculty of Law at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Sefwi Wiawso Senior High School, Prempeh College and many others continue to receive funding from Otumfuo’s educational fund to improve infrastructural facilities in their schools. 23 Finally, Otumfuo’s Best Teacher Award to teachers serving in deprived 22

https://www.knust.edu.gh/announcements/general/inspirational-king-otumfuo-osei-tutu-ii-at-63-

some-major-landmarks 23

http://www.ghanaculture.gov.gh/index1.php?linkid=65&archiveid=2057&page=1&adate=09/02/2009

39

areas in Ghana has served as inspiration and incentive to teachers to accept postings to deprived communities.

B. Health

Ghana, like other sub-Saharan Africa countries, has a high rate of tropical infectious diseases like malaria, tuberculosis (TB), intestinal worms and many more. It also suffers from HIV/AIDS. According to Mr. Samuel Addo, a Disease Control Officer in Ghana, the country records 3.5 million cases of malaria annually, 900,000 out of which are children under five years. 24 With regard to HIV/AIDS, the average death in Ghana in 2015 was 13,000, leaving 160,000 as orphans between the ages of 0 and 17 in the same year. 25

Health has therefore been another sector of major concern to both leaders, and was captured in their inaugural (accession) speeches. The monarchs are well aware that healthy workers reduce absenteeism from work due to ill health and are more productive at work. Indeed, empirical research has established a reverse causality between health and economic growth (Devlin & Hansen, 2001). This means that improvement in health will stimulate economic growth, which will in turn stimulate health. However, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Ghana’s total 24

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/health/Ghana-records-3-5-million-cases-of-malaria-

annually-409563 25

http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/ghana

40

expenditure on health as a percentage of GDP in 2014 was 3.6%. 26 This is extremely low as health is a key determinant of human capital and labour productivity. Health expenditure is therefore an investment which will result in higher income (growth).

Out of the 13 reports on the monarch’s contributions to good health, six (6) were based on public pronouncements, three (3) from each leader. In one report Osagyefo appealed to striking doctors to return to work while their leadership continues negotiations with government for improved conditions of services (“Okyehene to GMA 27: Ignore the comments and reconsider” [GhanaWeb: Tv3network.com] 13 August 2015). This was not the first time Osagyefo had appealed to the GMA. There was a similar successful report in 2013 of his appeal to the GMA (“Why we are still on strike - GMA president explains” [GhanaWeb: JoyOnline] 24 April 2013). As Ghanaians generally revere the office of their traditional leaders, such pronouncements go a long way to avert imminent long strike by doctors and its resultant adverse effect on labour productivity.

Otumfuo is reported to have challenged surgeons to redouble their efforts at churning out more surgeons to alleviate the burden of diseases which required surgery in Ghana, (“Prez Mahama explains use of Ashanti to pilot NHIS capitation” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com.gh] 25 February 2014). He is also reported to have called for greater transparency in the procurement of hospital equipment to ensure that the country 26

http://www.who.int/countries/gha/en/

27

Ghana Medical Association

41

derives maximum benefits (“Asantehene worried about lack of transparency in hospital procurement” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 3 September 2010). Beyond these pronouncements, there were news paper reports on the monarchs’ involvement in the areas of maternal/child health, health education and dental health. Maternal and infant mortality, mostly due to malaria, TB, HIV/AIDS and others are the major health challenges facing Ghana. According to the UN Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division), infant mortality rate in Ghana in 2013 stood at 46 deaths per 1,000 live births.28 The CIA World Factbook also estimates maternal mortality rate in Ghana in 2015 at 319 deaths per 100,000 live births. 29 There is the need for extra help to complement the government’s effort to reduce maternal/child mortality rates in Ghana. There was a strong overlap in the interest of both government and traditional leaders in this sub-section Otumfuo, through his maternal/child health initiative, is demonstrating that childhood health must be safeguarded as it has a direct effect on cognitive development, learning ability and even school attendance. There were four (4) reports, on maternal/child health initiatives by Otumfuo. It was reported on Friday, 18 March 2011, that his wife donated items valued at GH¢4,200.00 (USD$ 2,826.38) from his Serwaa Ampem Foundation to support the Paediatric Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, (“Wife of Asantehene donates to KATH” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 18 March 28

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.IMRT.IN

29

http://www.indexmundi.com/ghana/maternal_mortality_rate.html

42

2011). In another report, bags of maize, rice, sugar, soya beans, groundnuts and cartons of chocolate drink were donated by Lady Julia to the Maternal and Child Health Hospital (MCHH), in Kumasi to support the upkeep of malnourished children in the facility (“MCHH takes delivery of food items” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 30 June 2011). Again, one (1) report mentioned that over 30,000 children in his kingdom benefitted from free dental care, (“30,000 children in Ashanti to benefit from free dental care” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 7 November 2012).

Aside from child health, I find that Otumfuo is also actively involved in adult health. Adult mortality and morbidity generally affect the ability to save and accumulate wealth for development. Due to the weakness of public and private insurance systems in Ghana, out-of-pocket spending has been the main source of health financing. For instance, even though the government of Ghana started implementing a National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in 2004, the World Health Organization Global Health Expenditure database indicated that Ghana’s out-of-pocket health expenditure (private expenditure on health) in 2012 was 77%.30 This means that families with low income may have to sell their productive assets such as cocoa farms, land or livestock to pay for medical expenses (Xu, et al., 2003). To help reduce the number of families that are likely to be thrown into abject poverty due to health shocks, Otumfuo has been complementing the government’s efforts in adult health care. There were two (2) news paper reports to the effect that his wife serves as trustee of the Sweden-Ghana Cancer Foundation (SGCF), which seeks to raise, at least, $5 million to support the treatment 30

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.XPD.OOPC.ZS?locations=GH

43

and awareness of cancer, which is fast becoming one of the major killer diseases in Ghana (“Rawlings, Kufuor support Cancer Fund” [GhanaWeb: Daily Graphic] 9 November 2012). Otumfuo’s investment in health care is therefore theoretically contributing to a sustained and improved economic and social outcome. In practice, his wife, Lady Julia Osei Tutu is actively involved in maternal, child and health care as well as health education to help mothers to become economically productive as their health status improves. His Serwaa Ampem Foundation is also providing financial and other material support for the eradication of diseases such as Guinea Worm as well as helping children infected/affected by HIV. C. Environment The UN is keen on reversing global ecological decline. In view of that, there are 2,108 Bilateral Environmental Agreements, 1,281 Multilateral Environmental Agreements and 249 Other (non-multi, non-bilateral) Environmental Agreements currently in existence, (Mitchell, 2017, v1). Also, UN bodies such as the UN Environment Programme, the Commission on Sustainable Development, and the Global Environment Facility are working tirelessly on international environmental management. The two monarchs of this study are complementing this global initiative by playing increasingly important roles in environmental protection in their kingdoms and in Ghana as a whole. Thus, the monarchs under consideration here are becoming vital for implementing state policies and global initiatives on climate change. Ghana's greatest environmental challenges at the time of writing this paper emanate from mining 44

activities, both large scale by multi-lateral companies and small scale illegal mining known in Ghana as “galamsey”, tree felling by chainsaw operators and sanitation. Based on World Bank-International Monetary Fund Structural Adjustment Program (SAP), Ghana’s mining sector saw an intensive liberalization, deregulation and privatization. This policy recommendation opened up Ghana’s economy for foreign investors. While this policy created jobs and tax revenue for Ghana, according to Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network (SAPRIN), it caused more unemployment than employment as it relatively displaced more farmers by taking large portions of farm lands for surface mining activities (SAPRIN, 2002). A more devastating environmental effect of mining in Ghana is seen in the areas of water and air pollution (Akabzaa & Darimani, 2001). The pollution of Air and water has compounded the spread of malaria, TB, silicosis, acute conjunctivitis and skin diseases in Ghana. The paper found thirty-seven (37) news paper reports on the monarch’s engagements under this sub-section. Nineteen (19) articles out of the total were on the monarchs’ public pronouncements. The remaining 18 were split twelve (12) and six (6) for Osagyefo and Otumfuo respectively on sanitation campaign and environmental sensitisation. On pronouncement, Otumfuo was reported to have scolded the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is mandated to conserve and protect the environment and the Minerals Commission, also responsible for the regulation and management of the utilization of the mineral resources of Ghana, as their negligence (failure to keep mining companies in check) has resulted in widespread environmental degradation (“Otumfuo questions effectiveness of EPA, Minerals Commission” 45

[GhanaWeb: myjoyonline.com] 13 June, 2014). By scolding, the monarch was demanding accountability from state actors, contrary to common stereotypes that traditional leaders are accomplices in corruption. In another report, he appealed to Mr. David Johnston, the governor general of Canada, for more Canadian support towards Ghana’s effort to protect its environment from degradation. (“Asantehene wants Canada to support Ghana protect the environment” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 16 May, 2013). This he did to call Mr. Johnston’s attention to the neglect of the environment by the over ten (10) Canadian mining companies operating in Ghana.

Okyehene, on the other hand, called on all Ghanaians to join in the protection of the legacy inherited from their forefathers (green environment), (“Okyehene declares war against environmental degradation” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 13 June, 2014).

Osagyefo, since ascending the throne, has been very active in the campaign to save the environment. His environmental concerns far transcend the narrow confines of his kingdom. He has subsequently rolled out various programs and projects to address the environmental challenges of Ghana. Firstly, he instituted an annual Okyeman Environment Week in the year 2000. Some of the activities within the week include community durbars to create public awareness, tree planting exercise, training seminars, film shows and children’s environmental bazaar. The themes for the 2014 and 2015 celebrations, for instances, were “Rise Up and Join the Fight against Degradation” and “Our Prosperity should not Cost the Earth” respectively. This also shows that traditional leaders are prudent stewards of the environmental. During the 2014 celebration for instance, some 5,000 people in eight communities were sensitised 46

on sustainability of natural resources in their daily activities (“Okyehene declares war on environmental degradation” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 13 June 2014). Osagyefo has also spearheaded many sanitation campaigns. One example is the 2013 “Let’s Team Up to Clean Up” to raise funds from civil society and corporation bodies to tackle the sanitation challenges in Ghana. In recognition of his immense contribution to sanitation in Ghana, government invited him to chair the maiden National Sanitation Day (“Okyenhene urges govt to develop rural areas” [GhanaWeb: Daily graphic]. The aim of all these activities is to ensure improved air and water quality, protection of biodiversity and habitat, among others. These monarchs are, indeed, serving as the bridge not just for translating national policies into grassroots initiatives but they are also the very actors that provide the link between global and local policies. Ironically, however, there were three (3) reports implicating the monarch on the devastation of Kyebi township, (the seat of Ofori Panin stool), by “galamsey” activities (“Kyebi in ruins over galamsey” [GhanaWeb: Myjoyonline] 12 December 2011). These reports, even though denied by Osagyefo’s palace, raise some concerns regarding the monarch’s inability or unwillingness to stop the illegal mining activities. This gives some credence to Ribot’s (2001) assertion that there are some elements of corruption among tradition leaders. As a global player, Otumfuo on the other hand, canvassed for international assistance in 2010 to save Lake Bosomtwe in his kingdom. This lake is one of six crater lakes in the world with unique features, but according to the Water Resources Commission (WRC) of Ghana, the use of cages containing algae for fishing has generated serious 47

environmental and public health problems. In response to Otumfuo’s request, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has undertaken a USD$1.5 million ecological project to protect and manage Bosomtwe and other natural resources in its basin. In 2016, UNESCO officially declared Lake Bosomtwe as one of the world’s biosphere sites (“Lake Bosomtwe designated UNESCO world site” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com.gh] 2 October 2016). UNESCO is currently building the capacities of the people living around the lake for its sustainable management. This partnership between Otumfuo and UNESCO is a clear case of policy recognising the importance of history, culture, and social context for an effective development outcome, which is in line with Dore’s (2001) position. Again, it shows that traditional leaders are increasingly broad-mined and forward looking by embarking on initiatives meant to serve the planet. This is contrary to stereotypes that portray traditional leaders as inward looking and operating from local bases without clear global or temporal view. What this implies is that, given adequate degree of economic and political independence from the modern state, traditional leaders can operate more effectively.

Secondly, Otumfuo directly participated in National Sanitation Day, clearly exhibiting leadership by example. One paper reported of Otumfuo Osei Tutu, clad in a Lacoste T-shirt and holding a shovel to clear choked gutters and streets of filth (“Kumasi must be restored to Garden City status – Asantehene” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 3 November 2014). It should be mentioned that the National Sanitation Day is Government’s response to a horrific cholera outbreak that has claimed more than 150 lives and 48

infected over 17,000 people in Ghana. All these initiatives speak to the global, socially and environmentally responsible outlook of the two traditional authorities. While both monarchs are engaged in environmental activities, Osagyefo was more active than Otumfuo in this sub-section (see Table 2, p. 64). What makes his environmental initiatives different from that of Otumfuo is that he actively involves the younger generation in his environmental week celebrations, an exercise which can guarantee sustainable environmental practises as it creates the awareness at the early age of the children in his kingdom. His national approach to environmental concerns in Ghana is also very unique. Unlike Otumfuo, Okyehene’s environmental activities transcend his kingdom to other parts of Ghana. It is no surprise that he was selected to chair the Lunching of the first National Sanitation Day in Ghana. This paper is of the view that the variation found here is as a matter of priority. This is because, Otumfuo has more resources than Osagyefo and so for Osagyefo to outdo him can only be as a matter of where he (Otumfuo) prioritises his development initiatives. This position is confirmed by the fact that going back to their accession speeches, Osagyefo had environment as one area of concern but the same cannot be said of Otumfuo (not suggesting that he cares less of the environment). It is clear that while both monarchs are making strenuous efforts to bring development to their people, they are not oblivious of the conflict between development and environment. As stated earlier, their activities such as sensitising their people on conservation of natural resource and protection and proper management of water bodies will produce a significant impact on sustainable development in Ghana.

49

4.2 Economic Development: Agriculture A. Agriculture Agriculture has lost its dominant position in terms of contribution to Ghana’s GDP in recent years. Currently, the sector’s estimated contribution to GDP is 19.5% whiles that of Industry is 24% and Service leading with 56.4%.31 However, according to Mr. Seth Terkper, the Ghanaian Minister for Finance and Economic Planning in 2016, this sector still employs about 55% of Ghanaians.32 Agricultural activities are predominantly rural, with 82.5% rural households , mostly women, involved ( Ghana living standards survey, 2016). It is worthy to note that both kingdoms are inhabited largely by farming communities and therefore any positive contribution to this sector will directly improve the lives of the people. Indeed, Osagyefo confirmed this in one (1) article that most of the inhabitants in his kingdom are farmers (“Okyenhene confesses: Our roads are being constructed” [GhanaWeb: The Republic] 26 May 2015). It is regrettable to mention that, based on the data collected, these monarchs are not doing enough to help agriculture. There were only 7 news paper reports within the study period in total, 4 on public pronouncement, 2 on establishment of Agricultural Universities by Osagyefo and 1 on Otumfuo’s personal cultivation of farmland. The agriculture sector is plagued by challenges such as low level of mechanisation and adoption of technology, poor irrigation, lack of insecticide, land tenure system, lack 31

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/ghana/ghana_economy.html

32

www.modernghana.com/news/668644/ghanas-economic-prospects-in-2016.html

50

of market for farm produce, poor management of post-harvest yield and many more. The expectation of the paper was to find the monarchs assisting farmers in their kingdoms to tackle some of these challenges so as to generate income and growth within the rural communities. On the contrary, Otumfuo for instance appealed to the World Bank Executive Director for Ghana, Mr. Javed Talat to assist develop the sector to give jobs to the people (“Otumfuo urges more World Bank support for Ghana’s development” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 15 August 2011). In another report, he appealed to the government to offer special tax rebate to entrepreneurs investing in the agricultural sector (“Halt destruction of cocoa farms” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com] 24 June 2013). One (1) article mentioned that Osagyefo on 2nd of August 2012, brought to the attention of the President of the European Union (EU), Mr. Herman Van Rompuy, that the University College of Agriculture and Environmental Science in his kingdom was established on the principal pillars of agriculture and environment, when the latter paid a courtesy call on him at his palace. In another article, he inaugurated a 12-member council to steer the affairs of the University College with the mandate to approve new programmes for the university and assist in the annual evaluation of deans (“Okyehene inaugurates Agric University Council” [Daily Guide] 20 April 2015). Even though, the establishment of Agriculture University might in the long run help tackle issues confronting agriculture, the issue of where the poor farmer will get income to educate the child in this university still remains unresolved. If Osagyefo had assisted the farmers directly, their income would have been improved to be able to pay for their children in school. As it stands, the paper is of the view that the monarch has ‘put the cart before the horse.’

51

The Asantehene is reported to have personally cultivated over 1,000 acres of oil palm at Ofoase in Asanti region. He has also acquired a large tract of land between Kumawu and the Afram Plains for another oil palm plantation (“Otumfuo cultivates 1,000 acres oil palm plantation” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 4 September 2010). The monarch could have also assisted small scale oil palm producers and producers of other cash crops in his kingdom to increase their yields. Both monarchs are not doing enough to develop Agriculture within their kingdoms. It is surprising to see that even though Agriculture employs a large chunk of their people, not much is being done to help solve the challenges farmers within their kingdoms face. The difference observed in their involvement in this sector is that Osagyefo is encouraging the training of professionals in Agriculture while Otumfuo is personally cultivating oil palm. The paper cannot state that the monarchs’ impact on Agriculture is negative. However, given the fact that these kingdoms are predominantly inhabited by farming communities, and there were only 3 reports within the six-year study period, which were even not in direct support to the farmers (such as provision of irrigation equipment, fertilizer and markets for their produce), is completely at variance with Sen’s view on development. This is because, until the monarchs use their influence to assist these farmers to move from peasant farming to medium and large-scale farming, the farmers will continue to remain “unfree” with their limited income. 4.3 PEACE AND SECURITY: Conflict Prevention and Resolution Africa has long been plagued by multiple conflicts over the years: Rwanda genocide; Conflicts over rich minerals and other resources in the Democratic Republic of the 52

Congo (DRC); Côte d’Ivoire’s coup d'état in 1999 and its aftermath as well as election dispute between President Laurent Gbagbo and the then opposition leader Alassane Ouattara in 2010; political attacks and horror in South Sudan; the Liberia conflict and subsequent expulsion of Charles Taylor; the massacres by the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda; conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Burundi and Boko Haram along the Nigerian/Cameroon border, among others. These conflicts, and their spill over effects, raise serious concern to world peace and development so at the G8 Summit at Kananaskis, Canada, G8 nations pledged to make conflict prevention and resolution in Africa a top priority. In the midst of all these conflicts, Ghana has been very peaceful, earning for itself the accolade of “Island of Peace” in one of the most chaotic regions on earth. The monarchs are aware that there is a negative relationship between conflict and development. This was demonstrated by 55 articles on their involvement in the areas of public pronouncement on Peace Building, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Resolution. This demonstrates the convergence and divergence of interests between traditional leaders and the state in a democratic Ghana. While traditional leaders have their own party affiliations, they are actively involved in ensuring peace and political stability because this works against their interests to uplift the masses. Just like the state, traditional leaders also require peace and security for their chieftainship to thrive. There were fourteen (14) article reports on their public pronouncements alone, touching on political, ethnic, religious and chieftaincy conflicts. Twelve (12) of them were attributed to Otumfuo. In four (4) articles, Otumfuo’s pronouncement warned against the danger of ethnic conflict to development (“Keep to the democratic path53

Asantehene” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 2 January 2010). Three (3) articles targeted political leadership [readers should note that 2012 and 2016 were election years in Ghana], one example is (“Campaign in peace and avoid inciting violence – Asantehene” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 6 May 2012). One was also directed at the media in Ghana (“Don't be induced to report untruths - Otumfuo tells media” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 9 September 2014). Here, he is quoted to have said that “…maligning, inciting public hatred and antagonism towards personalities, motivated by sheer mischief, must be avoided” . In 2 articles, he praised the various religious groups in Ghana for their level of tolerance, respect and good understanding. One headline read: (“Asantehene hails tolerance among Christians, Muslims” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 1 December 2015). In another article, he commended security agencies for the peace, security and political stability of the country, in spite of the logistical constraints and operational challenges they face (“Asantehene commends security agencies for peace” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 19 February 2010). His pronouncements on chieftaincy was in favour of the Queen of Obogu in his kingdom, Nana Akua Pokua II, for averting a major conflict by selecting a candidate from another royal gate besides hers who she felt was equally competent to occupy a vacant seat (“Otumfuo commends Obogu Queen mother” [GhanaWeb: Graphic.com] 20 June 2016). The Okyenhene, on the other hand, was reported to have cautioned politicians prior to the 2016 general election in Ghana to conduct decent campaigns and avoid politics of insults. He said “Political leaders should also talk to their supporters not to do anything that would rock the boat and push the citizenry back in their efforts to build an egalitarian society deeply rooted on a robust foundation of freedom and justice” 54

(“Okyenhene

cautions

politicians

over

indecent

campaign”

[GhanaWeb:

Dailyguideghana.com] 30 December 2015). In another report, and for the first time in this research, his queen mother (Okyehema), Nana Adutwumwaa Dokuaa, admonished the youth of Ghana to put their ethnic differences aside and work as Ghanaians to build a better Ghana. She said “flee from the use of drug and ethnic violence” (Flee from Drug & Violence- Okyehema” [GhanaWeb: Republic Newspaper] 18 October 2011). The warnings, recognitions, commendations and praises from the monarchs to the various stakeholders in Ghana is worthy of emulation by other kingdoms in Ghana and the rest of Africa as they have proven to be one of the effective tools in conflict prevention in Ghana. Interestingly, chiefs who used to engage in wars to conquer more territories have adapted to modern exigencies to ensure peace and security to serve the interest of their people.

A. Conflict Prevention

Paul Collier, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Oxford describes conflict as “development in reverse”, (Collier, 2003, p. 13). This means that every effort should be made in Ghana to prevent conflict. Thus, the adverse consequences of conflict such as displacement of labour force (populations), capital flight, lost of lives and properties and economic distortions should be prevented. The monarchs engaged themselves in certain initiatives, as reported in twenty (20) articles in regard to conflict prevention. To achieve their aim of preventing conflict, they resorted to defusing political tension, land litigation and serving as avenue for aggrieved individuals and groups to channel their grievances for redress.

55

There were eleven (11) articles on Otumfuo and one (1) on Okyehene on defusing political tension. John Rawlings and John Kufuor, two (2) former presidents from the two main political parties, were believed to be harbouring contempt for each other, based on their political rhetoric on media. Otumfuo was reported to have invited them to his 60th birthday celebration in Kumasi on 7 th May 2010, and at the instance of the Asantehene, shook hands to the applause of all present amidst chanting of "Otumfuo has done it again" (“JAK, JJ eat Lord's Supper at Otumfuo's birthday” [GhanaWeb: Daily Guide] 7 May 2010). Such exercise indirectly put the large followers of both past leaders at ease. He also collaborated with other stake holders to invite all eight (8) presidential candidates of the 2012 general election in Ghana to Kumasi to sign a Peace Declaration Document with the theme “Promoting peaceful elections: Taking a stand against electoral violence, impunity and injustice”. (“Asantehene urges party activists to abide by Kumasi Declaration” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 28 November 2012). Furthermore, the result of the 2012 presidential elections in Ghana was challenged by the main opposition party, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on the bases of electoral irregularities at the Supreme Court. This petition marked a watershed in Ghana’s democracy as all eyes were on Ghana to come out clean from the petition to consolidate its democracy. With high tensions between supporters from both sides waiting for the slightest provocation to explode, the two monarchs moved into action. The patron of the William Ofori-Atta Heritage, Osagyefo, in conjunction with the Christian Council of Ghana and the Office of the Chief Imam organised a National Peace Forum with the theme “One nation, One People, One Destiny: Sustaining Ghana’s Democracy”, where he called on the political leaders to accept the verdict of 56

the court (“Accept the verdict”, Mahama and Nana Addo urged” [GhanaWeb: William Ofori-Atta Heritage] 22 August 2013). Otumfuo also initially visited the two main presidential candidates at their residence and appeal to them to accept the outcome of the petition. Furthermore, the Manhyia Palace in conjunction with the National Peace Council (NPC), the Civic Forum Initiative (CFI) and the Institute of Democratic Governance (IDEG), also organised a national peace summit on the theme, “Justice, Peace and Reforms will Strengthen Ghana” (“Kufuor, Rawlings speak at National Summit today” [GhanaWeb: Daily Graphic] 19 July 2013). Land conflicts have been flagged as having extensive negative effect on development (Wehrmann, 2008). This is especially true in Ghana where on 29th of November 2002, news paper report indicated that land litigation tops court cases with about 60,000 pending cases.33 It should be noted that about 80% of the total land in Ghana is customary (traditionally) owned (Appiah, 2011). These lands have been passed on over the years to clans and families for farming and residential purposes without proper documentation. The lack of documentation has resulted in land disputes and litigations among families, communities and ethnic groups all over Ghana in recent years. To prevent land related litigations and it adverse impacts on development, the two monarchs of this study have initiated land documentation projects. Otumfuo embarked on a pragmatic approach to formalize all land grants in his traditional area by granting three-month moratorium to all persons, groups and institutions who need to obtain 33

https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Land-Litigation-Tops-Court-Cases-30062

57

leases on their lands within the Traditional Area to have them done so as to grant them valid titles to their lands (“Otumfuo Lease Documentation Project launched” [GhanaWeb: Myjoyonline] 16 November 2012). Okyehene also invited all stakeholders in Okyeman’s stool lands to formalise their land documents with Ofori Panin fie (see Appendix B), (“Okyeman residents urged to register their lands” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 24 April 2015).

Justice delayed, they say, is justice denied. This statement attributed to William E. Gladstone, a former prime minister of Great Britain, implies that to promote human rights and equal justice, courts are expected to discharge their duties expeditiously. However, in Ghanaian court delays in adjudication persist, as acknowledged by the current Chief Justice. 34 Such delays often erode feuding parties’ confidence in the court system. In some cases, the feuding parties take the laws into their own hands thereby destabilising the peace and development of the people. It is in the light of this that the monarchs’ role as alternative to the courts very crucial.

They complement the work

of the courts by serving as avenues for aggrieved persons to present their grievances for redress, particularly issues relating to land, chieftaincy, and tradition. The monarch sits with his council of elders as the feuding parties present their cases after swearing an oath with their witnesses to a deity. After hearing from both parties, the chief take counsel with his elders and come back with a verdict which in most cases is more reconciliatory than victimization. By so doing, the monarchs are able to avert imminent 34

http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2017/june-16th/cj-nominee-laments-delays-in-ghanas-justice-

delivery-system.php

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bloodshed, which turns to set back the clock of development. Two (2) articles reported on Otumfuo’s intervention in this regard. For instance, on September 2012, the youth of Kotwi, a town within the Asante kingdom, appealed to Otumfuo to stop their traditional leaders from selling 7.8 acres of land designated for basic school to an estate developer (“Tension mounts over encroachment on school lands at Kotwi” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 12 September 2012). In another development, he was petitioned by the Ashanti Regional Secretariat of the Ghana National Association of Garages (GNAG) to intervene to prevent imminent violent clashes between them and the Muslim Youth Association (“Garages Association petitions Asantehene over land encroachment” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 8 May 2014). Note that most of these elders and sub-chiefs that assist these monarchs in arriving at their decisions are trained professionals such as Lawyers, Doctors, Economist and what have you, showing another form of transformation to the chieftaincy institution in response to the demands of the twenty-century.

While the paper saw no variation in regard to both monarchs’ approaches to solving land litigations, there were eleven (11) article reports on defusing tension for Otumfuo as opposed to one (1) for Osagyefo. Also, all two (2) reports on avenues for grievance redress were for Otumfuo. This paper cannot conclusively state that Osagyefo is not doing enough in those areas. The only logical cause for this observed phenomenon is that Otumfuo has both larger population (4.8m) and larger land size (9,417sq. m) in his kingdom which makes it more susceptible to high level of conflict. 59

B. Conflict Resolution

While conflict prevention seeks to completely eliminate or at least reduce potenti al drivers and sources of conflict, conflict resolution focuses on assisting with dialogue facilitation, mediation, arbitration and confidence building activities between feuding parties. The impacts of conflict on development, such as capital and human flight, civilian fatalities, value of lost production as government invests in military, cost of post-conflict repairs etc., are quite profound. Therefore, conflict resolution is equally critical in preventing prolonged conflict situations. As agents of developments, the monarchs have also brought peace and reconciliation to their Kingdoms through conflict resolution. There were twenty-one (21) articles covering mediation and arbitration of protracted chieftaincy and land disputes.

Otumfuo is the chair of the Committee of Eminent Chiefs selected by the government of Ghana to mediate the clash between the Abudu and Andani clan from the Kingdom of Dagbon in the Northern Ghana which led to the gruesome assassination of the king, Yaa Naa Yakubu Andani II, in 2002. Under his leadership, the two feuding gates were made to sign a “Roadmap to Peace” on 30 March 2006. He also succeeded in the peaceful burial of the late king and the installation of the regent. However, in one article, he blamed the deadlock in full implementation of the roadmap to peace on political interference (“Asantehene blames politicians for Dagbon deadlock” [GhanaWeb: Joy news] 5 December 2011). A more recent article reported of the resumption of work on the roadmap to peace in Dagbon after a long break due to political interference (“Dagbon peace talks resume” [GhanaWeb: Citifmonline.com] 5 60

April 2014). Although a new king is yet to be enskinned (installed), Otumfuo, with the support of others, has succeeded in stabilizing the conflict in Dagbon.

Additionally, he has used his arbitration skills to amicably resolve all protracted stool and land disputes in his kingdom. One paper reported of Otumfuo reconstituting the Asanteman council to speed up the resolution of disputes by discarding the old practice of setting up committees to deal with cases due to bribery allegations to now directly hearing cases and making definitive pronouncements (“Asanteman Council to speed up resolution of disputes” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 14 March 2012). There was also a report on distoolment of one Omanhene for refusing to visit and initiate development projects in his traditional area (“Asantehene destools Omanhene of Akrodie” [GhanaWeb: Daily Graphic] 12 July 2013). Eleven (11) Odikros were also distooled for various offences while the rightful custodian of the stool land at Ntensere (a town in his kingdom) was successful adjudicated (“Ntensere stool affairs judgment” [GhanaWeb: Kumasi Traditional Council] 25 September 2013).

On the international scene, the president of Ghana is reported by one article to have relied on the clout of Otumfuo to bring an amicable solution to the squabble between Ghana and Nigeria as the former delayed in payment of US $181 million in bills for Gas supplied to the latter (“Otumfuo mediates in Ghana Nigeria Gas debt issue” [GhanaWeb: kasapafmonline.com] 26 October 2015). In another article, in recognition of Otumfuo as a global peace maker in a troubled world, Chatham House 35 in the 35

Chatham House, is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation based in London whose mission is to analyse and

promote the understanding of major international issues and current affairs.

61

United Kingdom invited him to speak on the escalating threats to global peace and security on October 30, 2015 (“Asantehene to address Chatham House in UK” [Ghanaweb: Myjoyonline.com] 20 October 2015). During the study period, he also visited the Vatican City where he held a meeting with Pope Francis on world peace, Africa, religion and tradition. (“Otumfuo meets Pope Francis” [GhanaWeb: Daily Guide] 1 June 2015). There were seven (7) articles on praises from other traditional and political leaders as well as the clergy in and outside Ghana to Otumfuo in recognition of his contributions to world peace and security. Examples include: Yagbonwura Tuntumba Bore Essa Sulemana Japka I, President of the Gonja Traditional Area (“Yagbonwura Jakpa calls on Asantehene” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 12 June 2010), and the Archbishop of Canterbury Most Reverend Justin Welby (“Asantehene welcomes Archbishop of Canterbury” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 31 October 2014). Regarding Okyehene’s arbitration of stool and land dispute, there were three (3) newspaper reports during the study period. He set up a Judicial Committee of the Akyem Abuakwa Traditional Council to rule on the Kobriso stool case (“Judicial committee rules on Kobriso stool case” [GhanaWeb: GNA] 13 May 2011). He also reinstated a distooled Odikro of Kyebi-Afiesa (“Okyehene reinstates KyebiAfisahene” [GhanaWeb: Kofi Siaw, Kyebi] 10 March 2014). The elated Odikro was quoted as saying “I want to laud the Okyehene for exhibiting his fatherly love by hearing me out. It isn’t any leader who will act as Osagyefo. I can only assure him and my people of my commitment and adherence to the traditional norms and customs of Okyeman”.

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While both monarchs have contributed in bringing peace and reconciliation to their respective kingdoms, there are some variations in their approaches. Okyehene relies on setting up committees, very typical of western democracy, to investigate complains of stool and land dispute and finding lasting solutions. This practice did not work under the Asanti kingdom as committee members were alleged to be involved in bribery. This has led to the direct hearing of cases by the whole Asanteman council in order to pass a judgment. Also, another significant variation is the fact that, it appears that under the Asanti kingdom, the distoolment of any traditional leader is final while the Akyem system can reinstate a distooled leader when there are reasonable grounds to do so. It is obvious that both leaders have identified politicians, the media, religious groupings, ethnic groupings, and the chieftaincy institution itself as the potential sources of conflict and have directed their pronouncements and activities towards those directions. There were reports on chieftancy conflict within and outside the kingdoms of these leaders. This situation makes the chieftancy institution in Ghana a double-edged sword as it both creates and resolves conflicts. What stands out here, however, is that there was a report of the queen mother of Akyem Abuakwa, Nana Adutwumwaa Dokuaa, rhetorically calling for unity among the youth in Ghana from different ethnic backgrounds.

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5. SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS Table 2: Analysis of Newspaper Articles by Sector

Sector

Social Development Economic Development Peace and Security

Total Reported Education Health Environment Agriculture Conflict Prevention Conflict Resolution

25 7 15 3 20 21

Ranking Otumfuo High High Medium Low High High

Osagyefo Low — Medium Medium Low Low

The following should be noted in interpreting table 2: The total refers to the monarchs’ actual engagements in development activities (public pronouncements excluded). Also 3 articles under the environment sub-sector were excluded because they reported on issues of environmental concern in Kyebi (what the paper considered as an irony36). Contribution/donations to the monarchs’ fund were also not captured here.

Contrary to Mboya’s position that traditional leaders are an impediment to development (Mboya, in Osaghae, 1989), the paper found that in most cases both monarchs were key players in Ghana’s development trajectories. The two monarchs under consideration share similar purpose - to bring development to their people, as captured in their accession speeches and public pronouncements. However, the paper found very striking variations in their development initiatives as indicated in Table 2.

In total, Otumfuo outperformed Osagyefo in contribution to development in Ghana. In terms of education, out of the total thirty (30) articles gathered, twenty-five (25) of them were on their direct involvement in education. This indicates that comparing their public pronouncement with actual performance, the monarchs are more directly involved in promoting education in Ghana than mere rhetoric. However, 96% (24 articles) of the 36

Articles that implicated Osagyefo in “galamsey” activities were excluded as they were not impacting development.

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performance in this sub-sector was in Otumfuo’s favour. Judging from the fact that 86% of the reported contributions to their funds went to Otumfuo, it is reasonable to witness Otumfuo doing better in education. This variation can also be for the simple reason that royalties received by Otumfuo from the central government for development purposes are more than that of Osagyefo, obviously due to the large mineral resource deposit in the Asante kingdom relative to the Akyem kingdom. Also, the huge contributions into Otumfuo’s foundations may account for the difference.

Still on education, there were reports that Otumfuo has been motivating students, teachers and even non-teaching staff in the name of quality education as far back as 2010. However, I observed that in 2014 there was a report that Ghana had 50% failure in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). The regional breakdown was not available on the West Africa Examination Council in Ghana’s Website. However, the fact that Otumfuo’s educational promotion covers the en tire country, it is fair to say that this abysmal performance should challenge the monarchs to track the impacts of their development initiatives within their kingdoms and beyond. While this poor performance does not suggest that the monarchs’ education initiatives are not having positive impacts, it brings to the fore the issue of focusing on output (activities) of projects instead of the outcome (impact/achievement) of their investments in education, and this should instead be a clarion call on the monarc hs to ensure that their investment yield the needed results.

It is important to remark,

however, that the monarchs should go beyond funding of education and ensuring quality education to working closely with educational institutions within their 65

kingdoms through intensive supervision to ensure that their investments into education translate to results.

On health, Otumfuo was in a league of his own as all seven (7) reported articles were in his favour. Note that Donkoh (2005) reported of Osagyefo’s personal involvement in the fight to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in 2002. There was however, no article report within this past six (6) years to reaffirm such claim. It should be noted that good health care is one of the societal challenges the monarch promised to tackle in his accession speech. The paper does not want to speculate that there is bias reporting from the Ghanaian media towards Osagyefo as the same media reported his public pronouncements on health, rather the paper speculates that his seemly lack of participation could be as a result of limited resources at his disposal or a shift in focus.

Thirty-seven (37) articles were gathered under the environment sub-sector. It was observed that greater number (19) were on pronouncement than on actual participation in development. Indeed, only fifteen (15) of them were on performance as the remaining three (3) were critical reports on Osagyefo’s inability to stop environmental degradation by galamsey operatives in Kyebi. The paper found Osagyefo contributing more in this sub-sector with nine (9) article reports in his favour. In an attempt to find why Osagyefo was doing more in this area, the paper observed that the two donations he received during the study period went into his Environmental foundation. This confirms the paper’s earlier speculation that his inability to do more is as a result of limited resources. It therefore stands to reason that if Osagyefo obtained more funding, he could do more in other sectors as well. But to get more funding Osagyefo must 66

ensure that the income and expenditure from his fund is published for public scrutiny so as to make it more transparent to earn public trust. Both monarchs are not doing enough in the agriculture sub-sector as there was no report on resources being channelled to directly support farmers. I observed that in the first place, for the six (6) year period of this study, only seven (7) article reports were gathered on Agriculture, out of which just three (3) were on direct engagement. Compare this with the other sub-sectors in table 2, Agriculture recorded the lowest. Secondly, the figure on Agriculture suggests that on average, the monarchs participated once in every two years in promoting development in this sub-sector. This comes as a surprise to the paper as both kingdoms are predominantly agrarian. Furthermore, it was seen that the monarchs did not engage in any activities geared towards improving the lives of the farming communities. These farmers are confronted with low agricultural productivity due to a variety of factors. Examples include but not limited to erosion and leaching, poor soil quality caused by pollution, scarce and high cost of inputs, outdated farming practices, and the negative impact of climate change on weather patterns. The expectation here was that the monarchs will be actively involved in complementing the effort of government to find lasting solutions to the problems farmers in their kingdoms are facing in order to help improve their productivity level and hence their income. There was not a single article report to that effect. Table 2 also shows that the two monarchs are at the forefront of the campaign to

maintain Peace and Security in Ghana. As high as fifty-five (55) article reports were gathered to that effect. Only fourteen (14) out of the total were on public pronouncement, indicating that they acted more in bringing about the peace Ghana 67

enjoys. Otumfuo dominated in Peace and Security as well. Out of the total of fortyone (41) news paper reports on this sector, Osagyefo had four (4) going in his favour, representing 10%. The 41 article reports on the monarchs’ involvement in Peace and Security in Ghana during the study period is quite significant. This lends strong support to the fact that traditional leaders are contributing to the peace in Ghana, a prerequisite for development. This demonstrates a degree of mutual dependence or what you would call coincidence of political interest between the state and the traditional leaders. This does not in any way suggest that traditional leaders and state are bedfellows; rather, it shows that cooperation between the traditional leaders and the state is dictated by their common interest. This underlines how local politics and power interests shape interactions between the two parties. In terms of donations to the foundations, this paper found that about 86% of the reported donations during the study period went to the Asante monarch. This variation in contribution may be attributed, to the issue of transparency. Transparency entails making information about the operations of the fund available to donors and the general public, and lack thereof erodes donor support. Otumfuo’s foundation has a well-structured Board of Trustees and a Secretariat which see to the management and disbursement of funds donated for development purposes. This gives accountability dimension to the fund, an essential motivation to donors. The absence of such a structure in the case of Osagyefo may have contributed to just 14% of the reported donations going to his foundation. The expectation here is that, once information on his fund becomes accessible to the public, the monarch should see a significant rise in contributions into his foundation. It should be noted that transparency goes beyond just making known to the public, the board of directors and 68

a secretariat, to publishing the total income and expenditure including overhead cost for the fund. It is regrettable that there was no mechanism in place to ensure accountability and transparency of funds (royalties and donations) paid to the monarchs. This portrays a picture of the monarchs using their positions to enrich themselves, confirming Kilson’s (1966) assertion that post colonial traditional leadership is less accountable to their people.

Many factors accounted for the observed variations in performances. Key among them is resource availability. Otumfuo did better than Osagyefo because he relatively had more resources at his disposal. Also, lack of transparency in donor fund disbursement affected the size of contribution to their funds particularly in the case of Osagyefo. Development initiative target also accounted for some observed variation. For example, while Osagyefo’s environmental conservation campaign targets youthful population as he desires to create early awareness of the need to care for the environment to ensure sustainable development, that of Otumfuo is geared toward adult only. Their scopes of development initiatives are also different. In education for instance, Otumfuo’s scholarship grants cover the entire country indicating his appreciation for the importance of education in development of Ghana in general, that of Osagyefo is limited to his kingdom as his priority. However, in the area of environmental initiatives the reverse is true for the two monarchs. It is also clear that in the area of agriculture, the monarchs have not prioritized this sector as nothing out of the limited resources from them was committed to helping improve the outmoded farming practices in their kingdoms. It is difficult to explain why the monarchs are not directly channelling resources into helping the farming community. They are appealing to government to assist farmers, yet beyond this rhetoric, they do absolutely 69

nothing within the study period to directly help the farmers. This explains why many are leaving farming to the urban centres in such of non-existing jobs.

6 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS A. Conclusion According to the 2017 World Bank country classification, Ghana is a lower middle-income country.37 This means that a significant percentage of the population still stand to benefit from social and economic development in a peaceful environment. Such a situation calls for a concerted effort by both government and traditional leadership to bring about the needed development to the citizenry. There is sufficient evidence to show that, provision of development projects is not exclusive to government, but instead, traditional leadership, given the needed conditions, can work alongside government to facilitate development. For example, the two traditional leaders discussed in this paper are actively involved in Ghana’s development trajectory, especially in their respective kingdoms. Their accession speeches revealed that they did not ascend the throne to amass personal wealth, instead their desire is to promote development in their kingdoms and they backed that up with many initiatives in education, health, environmental protection, conflict prevention and resolution. It can be concluded that these monarchs are very relevant in any future development agenda in their kingdoms specifically and Ghana in general.

37

Lower middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,026 and $4,035

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B. Recommendations The World Bank indicated that Ghana’s female population as a percentage of the total in 2015 was 50.25%,38 representing a little over half of the country’s population. While the importance of the monarchs to the development of their societies and Ghana as a whole cannot be overlooked, not much was reported on the post colonial queen mother. As mentioned elsewhere in this paper, if their roles do not parallel that of the kings, then it is recommended that the kings step up the involvement of their queen mothers and their own wives in development activities, particularly on issues relating to girls and women. This study observed that most of the ordinary people in the two kingdoms are rural dwellers and predominantly farmers. While the structural changes in Ghana’s economy are commendable, there is the need for the monarchs to pay attention to improving agriculture. For example, their active involvement in getting the people into mechanised agriculture will mean getting them greater control over their circumstances, which is more in line with Sen’s definition of development. This will not only ensure food security but will also increase production of cash crops for export, to lay the foundation for the development of food processing industries, and fuel industrialization and economic growth. The study further observed that even though both kingdoms are in Ghana, the Asante kingdom is larger in terms of size, population and resources compared to the Akyem kingdom. The vastness of the Asante kingdom works in favour of the king as he gets 38

ata.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL.FE.ZS?locations=GH

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more cash contributions from the large number of Asantes residing abroad, besid es royalties from the central government, donations from the numerous businesses operating in the kingdom, and international investors to embark on development. This accounted for the vast variations in terms of the quantity of development initiatives. In terms of future work, comparisons among more kingdoms of same size, such as a cross-country comparison between the Asante kingdom and the Ile-Ife kingdom of Nigeria, would shed more light on the contribution of traditional leaders in Africa’s development trajectory. Even though, the paper found significant evidence of the monarchs contributing to development, how much income they receive to undertake such projects is unknown. It is recommended that the monarchs put mechanisms in place to make their incomes and expenditures available for public scrutiny. This will make them more accountable and transparent to help gain more trust from the people and will lead to consolidating their legitimacy. Finally, judging from the monarchs’ public pronouncements, their practical engagements in development projects with the limited resources at their disposal, if more resources are made available to them with proper donor supervision, development will trickle down to those who need them. In the Paris Declaration in 2005 and the Accra Agenda for Action in 2008 on Aid Effectiveness, the OECD Development Assistance Committee, stated Ownership, Alignment and Inclusive Partnership as some of the fundamental principles for making aid more effective. This paper recommends that the OECD channel some percentage of their total aid to Ghana to these monarchs, as they best qualify by virtue of their closeness to the people to 72

facilitate the achievement of Aid Effectiveness through ownership, alignment and inclusive partnership principles.

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7 APPENDICES 7.1 APPENDIX A: THE DYNASTY OF ASANTEMAN FROM 1670 TO PRESENT

Capital

Kumasi

Language

Twi

Religion

Ancestor Worship

Government

Monarchy

Stool Name

Sika Twa (Golden Stool)

Name of Palace

Manhyia

Successive Kings

Reign Period

1. Osei Tutu I (Opemsuo) 1670-1717 2. Opoku Ware I 1720-1750 3. Kusi Obodum 1750-1764 4. Osei Kwame (Oko-awia) 1764-1777 5. Osei Kwame 1777-1798 6. Opoku Fofie 1798-1799 7. Osei Bonsu 1800-1823 8. Osei Yaw Akoto 1824-1834 9. Kwaku Dua I 1834-1867 10. Kofi Karikari 1867-1874 11. Mensa Bonsu 1874-1883 12. Kwaku Dua II 1884-1888 13. Agyeman Prempeh (Kwaku Dua III) 1888-1931 14. Osei Tutu Agyeman Prempeh II 1931-1970 15. Opoku Ware II 1970-1999 16. Osei Tutu II 1999- present Source: http://asantekingdom.org/history/kings-of-asante/

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Era

Pre-Colonial

Colonial

Post-Colonial

7.2 APPENDIX B: THE DYNASTY OF AKYEM ABUAKWA FROM 1700s TO PRESENT Capital

Kyebi

Language

Twi

Religion

Ancestor worship

Government

Monarchy

Stool Name

Ofori Panin Stool

Name of Palace

Ofori Panin Fie

Successive Kings

Reign Period

1.Ofori Panin I

1704-1727

2.Owusu Akyem Tenten

1727-1742

3.Pobi Asomaning II

1742-1765

4.Twum Ampofo I

1765-1772 (1st Term)

5.Obirikorang Aboree

1772-1783 (1st Term)

6.Twum Ampofo I

1783 (2nd Term)

7.Obirikorang Aboree

1783-1790 (2nd Term)

8.Twum Ampofo I

1790-1801 (3rd Term)

9.Saforo Apraku

1801-1807

10.Atta Wusu Yiakosan

1807-1811

11.Asare Bediako Kwadwo Kuma

1811

12.Kofi Asante Bayinyiye

1811-1816

13.Twum Ampofo II

1816-1817

14.Afia Dokuaa (Regent)

1817-1835

15.Ofori Atta Panyin

1835-1859

16.Atta Obuom

1859-1866

17.Amoako Atta I

1866-1887

18.Amoako Atta II

1887-1911

19.Amoako Atta III

1911-1912

20.Ofori Atta I

1912-1943

21.Ofori Atta II

1943-1958 (1st Term)

22.Kwabena Kena II (Regent)

1958-1959

23.Amoako Atta IV

1959-1966

24.Ofori Atta II

1966-1973 (2nd Term)

25.Ofori Atta III

1973-1976

26.Kuntunkununku II

1976-1999

27.Kena Ampaw II (Regent)

1999

28.Amoatia Ofori Panin II

1999-present

Era

Pre-Colonial

Colonial

Post-Colonial

Source: Okyeman Cultural Association in Toronto, Canada (http://www.okyeman.com/okyeman%20history3.htm)

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