The Minister for Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Stephen Asamoah Boateng has called on queen mothers to assist his ministry reduce chieftaincy disputes spread across all parts of the country.

According to him, he was appointed to serve and requires the queen mother’s support to tackle the chieftaincy disputes to the barest minimum in the country, saying 70 percent of the country's national security issues borders on chieftaincy disputes.

Mr Boateng made the call when he addressed the opening of the third annual conference and workshop for queen mothers at Abesim-Sunyani. 

Organised by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German Political foundation in partnership with the National Queen Mothers’ Platform and the Bono Regional Queen Mothers’ Association, the two-day event aimed to explore the complex relations between traditional leaders and the modern legal and political systems in Africa on the theme ‘Traditional Leaders in Contemporary African Governance: The Clash of Laws, Authorities and Responsibilities.’

It was also to provide a forum for discussion and debate on other related issues and “to explore ways in which traditional leaders can be integrated into modern governance systems while still maintaining their cultural identities and authorities”. 

The entire paramount queen mothers from the Bono and Bono East Regions and two accredited representatives from the remaining regions nationwide are participating in the conference.   

Mr Boateng said the important roles played by queen mothers would be enhanced through the provision of the necessary logistics to help assist their communities and develop the young people.

He said in the colonial era, chiefs and queen mothers were the rulers, however, since the adoption of western democracy most of those values have been abandoned, therefore, there was the need to fuse democracy and chieftaincy which would require amendments made to the Chieftaincy Act and specifically include queen mothers.

Nana Amponsah Dokua III, Paramount Queen Mother of Osudoku Traditional Area and President of the Queen Mother's Platform-Ghana said the conference would allow them to explore avenues to bridge the gap between traditional and modern governance systems.

She said as queen mothers they were not only seeking supportr but were willing to contribute to the development of their respective communities, regions, and the country as a whole while believing that with unity and support, they could make a great difference in the society.