CHIEFS ATTEND WORKSHOP ON CUSTOMARY LAW CODIFICATION (SEPT 15, PAGE 20)

CHIEFS and other stakeholders in the Ascertainment and Codification of Customary Law Project (ACL project) in the Offinso Traditional Area have attended a day’s validation workshop to assess the information that has been compiled so far.
The workshop allowed the participants to finally assess the outcome of the information compiled by the research teams and confirm or correct errors in the report to guide the finalisation of the reports.
The participants were grouped into two — the first consisted of members of the communities such as indigenous and settler farmers, assembly members and members of identifiable groups, while the second was for the chiefs within the traditional council.
ACL project is a joint research project established by the National House of Chiefs and the Law Reform Commission with support from the German Development Service (GTZ).
The purpose of the project is the ascertainment and the codification of the customary laws and practices regarding land and family in Ghana.
Consequently, a joint steering committee, with membership from the collaborating institutions was established to commence the project implementation in 2006.
The project is being carried out on pilot basis in 20 traditional areas across the 10 regions. Offinso Traditional Area, where the workshop was organised, is one of the pilot areas.
The final output of the project is expected to codify land and family laws, assist in the settlement of disputes and bring transparency in land transactions, thereby aiding development.
Speaking at the workshop for the traditional council, the Project Coordinator, Mrs Sheila Minka-Premo, said the benefits of the project were enormous and, therefore, urged the chiefs and the people to take it seriously.
Mrs Minka-Premo said the project would be replicated in other traditional areas after the piloting.
The Offinsohene, Nana Wiafe Akenten III, commended the National House of Chiefs and its collaborators for initiating the project.
He promised that the chiefs would give the needed support to enable the project to achieve its objectives.