A cross section of the queenmothers at the IEA seminar
Queenmothers in the various traditional areas have called on government to include them in the National House of Chiefs in the event of any constitutional reform, to enable them to fully participate in the political processes and discourse of the country.
President of the Queenmothers Platform Ghana, Nana Amponsah Dokuah III, made the call at the Rt. Hon. Prof. Mike Oquaye Centre for Constitutional Studies at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) seminar in Accra on Tuesday.
Article 271, Section 1 of the Chieftaincy Act creates the National House of Chiefs made up of five elected representatives of each regional House of Chiefs that have constitutional purposes.
According to her, although Article 271 does not specifically bar females from becoming members of the Houses of Chiefs, no specific provision was made to include them in the Houses of Chiefs.
She said “the exclusion of queenmothers also deny us opportunity for participating in national policy processes. The constitutional provision can therefore not be described as been gender responsive, this means there is little opportunity for females to be made members of the House.
“We hereby appeal for the inclusion of queenmothers in leadership through this constitutional amendment by acknowledging the vital role of queenmothers in the absence of the paramount chief or chief,” she added.
For her part, Linda Upiibar Gaala Tabasun, Queenmother for the Saboba Traditional Area in the Northern Region, said although the 1992 Constitution clearly frowns on disparity based on gender, ethnic origin or colour, the constitution excludes queenmothers in the distribution of stool lands revenue.
That, she described as unfair, given the role of queenmothers in complementing the work of chiefs.
“We occupy stools which require maintenance, we incur expenditure to preserve our status as queens and mothers of our communities to carry out our functions,” she pointed out.
She, therefore, stated that a review of the constitution would not only help improve transparency and accountability but would also go a long way to generate some source of revenue for them especially in the sale, lease and allocation of lands in their respective communities.
The Queenmother of Assin Atandansu in the Central Region also recommended the establishment of a national and regional chambers of queenmothers where they would be consulted on traditional and other matters of national interest.
Executive member of the Queenmothers Platform, who is also the Paramount Queenmother of Ve Traditional Area, Mamagah Toleyifoe V, however indicated that emotional intelligence is key in resolving most of the concerns raised by a section of Ghanaians on the need for constitutional reform.
The dialogue, which was chaired by the General Secretary of the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), Nana Yaa Jantuah, also brought together some dignitaries from various parts of the country.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah