Chiefs must be educated on laws for effective enforcement-MMDAs urged

Residents of the Asokore Mampong Municipality in the Ashanti Region have appealed to authorities to educate Chiefs and other traditional rulers on national and local bye-laws to help in effective enforcement of the laws.

They argue that when Chiefs and traditional rulers are abreast of the laws, they will be able to rule their subjects within the confines of the law and also help fight crime and maintain law and order in society.

They made the suggestion during a series of sensitization workshops on the bye-laws of Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), in the Ashanti Region, which took off at the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly (AMMA).

The programme was organized by Crime Check Foundation (CCF) in partnership with the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) as part of the implementation of its Decriminalizing Vagrancy Laws and Advocacy project.

Whiles praising CCF and OSIWA for the initiative, the residents urged authorities to engage Chiefs and traditional rulers who often disregard the laws and issue decrees that infringe on the rights of their subjects. They said laws, especially bye-laws will be effectively enforced if traditional rulers intervene. “Governments are able to pass laws quickly but enforcing them become difficult. Chiefs play a very important role in convincing their subjects to abide by rules and regulations so we appeal to you to involve them in the education”, a participant said.

The Presiding Member of the AMMA, Honorable Matthew Amissah thanked CCF for selecting them as beneficiaries of the project. This he said will help foster unity between the Assembly and the citizens to promote development in the Municipality.

“We must all go back to our various groups and educate them on what you have learnt here. We are very glad that we have been chosen to benefit from this project.” He said.

About OSIWA

The Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), established in 2000, is a grant-making and advocacy organization focused on equality, justice, democratic governance, human rights, and knowledge generation.  It is part of the global network of Open Society Foundations spread across 37 countries around the world.