A Senior Programme Manager of Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), Mr. Isaac Owusu-Mensah on Tuesday told traditional rulers that they had "legitimate authority" to call to order members of political parties whose actions and utterances could result in chaos in their areas.
He said they should intervene in such situations because the consequences could negatively affect them and their subjects.
Mr. Owusu-Mensah said this at the opening of a five-day training course for some queens in the southern part of the country.
He cited a case in which a public toilet was seized by some members of a political party but the chiefs and elders in that area failed to react and described the situation as "regrettable".
The training course formed part of a three-year modular course being organized to strengthen the capacity of traditional women leaders to enable them participate in local governance and help manage natural resources.
It is also to enable them utilize traditional and modern systems to create gender awareness and help in conflict resolution to ensure peace at all times.
The course is jointly run by the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge and Organizational Development (CIKOD), an NGO, and Institute of Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) with financial support from KAS.
Prof Albert Abane, Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the UCC, said traditional authorities commanded respect and authority, giving them a unique role in the country's political dispensation.
They should therefore utilize that authority well to bring about change in their areas and the country at large.
Mr. Willie Laate, Deputy Director of CIKOD, said the first batch of queens received their training from 2005 to 2007, and that the second batch which started last year, would complete in 2010.
Nana Ama Amissah III, Queen of the Mankessim Traditional Area who chaired the function and who is a beneficiary of the course, said it had been of immense benefit to her and urged her colleagues to take the course seriously to enable them make positive impact in their areas.