Abstract
Though post-colonial governments vowed to ban chiefs, they reconstructed governance systems to accommodate traditional governance structures due to the primacy of the institution. Chiefs and local government authorities have instrumental roles to play in community development. However, the relationship between them is characterised by tensions and conflicts. The hostilities between the two stakeholders and by extension officials of modern government are due to the role chiefs played in the indirect rule system. Chiefs prior to independence were labelled as collaborators of the imperial regime and obstacles to independence. In Ghana, agitations from the educated elites about allegations of corruption against Native Authorities characterised the pre-independence era. Chiefs have been debarred from local governance, creating a tempestuous relationship between the two stakeholders at the grassroots. However, the contested issues have not been given the needed attention. The article examined the contested issues between chiefs and local government authorities in New Juaben, Ghana. The study involved 25 participants selected through simple random and purposive sampling techniques. The contested issues between the two actors were over power and economic resources. Economically, chiefs contested for portions of the District Assembly Common Fund and land ownership. The desire for consultation in the nomination of government appointees, and election of MMDCEs were the politically contested issues. The article recommends the institutional representation of chiefs in the Assembly and the allocation of funds to chiefs to curtail the conflict between the two actors of community development.
Published Version
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