A paper is prepared for presentation at the D-8 ICPP6 Conference T02P05. Dissecting Public Policy Making in Africa: Theoretica, Analytical, and Methodological Perspectives …

A paper is prepared for presentation at the D-8 ICPP6 Conference T02P05. Dissecting Public Policy Making in Africa: Theoretica, Analytical, and Methodological Perspectives …

Emelia Amoako-Asiedu, Frank Ohemeng, Theresa Obuobisa-Darko, Mr Kenneth Parku

The role of traditional leaders (chiefs) in national development in Africa continues to generate significant debate among academics, especially those in the political science, anthropology, and economics literature. Chiefs are seen as local developers, as well as democratic brokers, but not as policy brokers, and thus minimizing their role in the national policy making process. The chiefs' potentially constructive role in national development, is facilitating local development projects, and influencing public policies for national development. We challenge the idea that chiefs are local development and democratic brokers, but rather they serve as policy brokers, ensuring that policies that impact national development are developed by government for the betterment of citizens. We, aslo argue that chiefs continue to play an important role in the process of good governance by serving as policy brokers and this role needs to critically highlighted in the public policy literature. We attempt to answer these questions how effective have traditional rulers (Chiefs) been in their role as policy brokers in Ghana? What specific roles have chiefs played as brokers in the governance and how successful have they been? Using the desktop research approach, it was identified that these traditional leaders are considered as severing as policy brokers in their roles as effecting cultural change, resolving conflict, brokering development projects settling disputes on land, acting as intermediaries and expressing their legitimacy as well as democratic and policy brokers in their significant role in the national policy making process. The paper contributes to the discussion of the role …

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