Traditional Leadership

MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF LOCAL GOVERNANCE

SURNAME: NDLOVU NAME(S): MILLION

REG NUMBER: R12857T MODE OF ENTRY: VISITING

PROGRAMME: HLGS-BSC LOCAL GOVERNANCE STUDIES HONOURS DEGREE

LEVEL: 1:1 MODULE CODE: LGS 113

MODULE TITLE: THE TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP SYSTEM AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE
LECTURER: MR V CHAKUNDA
ASSIGNMENT/QUESTION: Examine the leadership system of Ghana looking at its history, appointment, contributions to development and democracy.
LECTURER’S COMMENT: …………………………………………………………… ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP SYSTEM IN GHANA
According to Kwame (2006) he explains that Ghana’s traditional leadership structure is a hierarchy where at the base is a clan head commonly refered as Abusuapannin. Sitting just above the clan head is the village or town chief who is also known in some of the Akan dialects as the Odikuro, literally the owner of the village or town. Next in the hierarchy is the Omanhene or the paramount chief usually the traditional leader at the district level. At the apex of this hierarchy is the head of the tribal group such as Asantes or the Ga Mantse of the Gas.
In Ghana, traditional rule finds expression in forms such as religious leadership, lineage headship, leadership in extended families, and chieftaincy. Chieftaincy is, however, the fullest expression of traditional rule in its institutionalized form. It embodies: the cardinal characteristics of prescribed kinship and lineage succession to office; awe and sacredness of office and office holders; specific forms of contractual relationships between chiefs and their subjects; and institutionalised procedures for decision-taking and implementation at the levels of local community and local participation.
In this presentation, the thrust will be on

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