UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES IN LOCAL GOVERNANCE AND

POLITICAL DECISION-MAKING IN GHANA: A STUDY OF THE EFFUTU
TRADITIONAL AREA

Researcher: Desmond Moses Awuni

2026

Contents
• Instrument A: Interview Guide for Traditional Authorities (Chiefs / Elders)
• Instrument B: Interview Guide for Queen Mothers
• Instrument C: Interview Guide for MMDA Officials / Local Government Representatives
• Instrument D: Focus Group Discussion Guide for Community Members
• Instrument E: Participant Observation Checklist
• Instrument F: Key Informant Interview Guide for Regional House of Chiefs Representative
(Optional)

Note to the researcher: All instruments below are directly aligned to the study's three specific objectives
— (1) historical and current roles of traditional authorities, (2) challenges such as chieftaincy disputes
and political interference, and (3) strategies for improving collaboration with MMDAs — as well as the
research questions and thematic areas of the literature review (development roles, hybrid governance,
MMDA relations, queen mothers, and natural resource management). Adjust wording as needed after
piloting.
INSTRUMENT A: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR TRADITIONAL
AUTHORITIES (CHIEFS / ELDERS)
Target respondents: Omanhen, divisional chiefs, sub-chiefs, and traditional council elders within the
Effutu Traditional Area.
Estimated duration: 45–60 minutes.

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Good morning/afternoon. My name is Desmond Moses Awuni, a researcher from the University of
Education, Winneba. I am conducting a study on "The Role of Traditional Authorities in Local
Governance and Political Decision-Making in Ghana: A Study of the Effutu Traditional Area." This
interview is designed to gather your views and experiences on this topic.
Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may decline to answer any question or withdraw from
the discussion at any time without any consequence. All information you provide will be treated with
strict confidentiality and used solely for academic purposes. With your permission, this session will be
audio-recorded to ensure accuracy of data capture; the recording and transcripts will be stored securely
and destroyed after the study has been examined.
Do I have your permission to proceed and to audio-record this session? Yes ☐ No ☐

PART B: BIODATA OF RESPONDENT

Date of interview
Position/title (e.g., Omanhen, Divisional
Chief, Elder)
Division/community
Number of years in office
Sex
Age range

PART C: HISTORICAL AND CURRENT ROLES (Objective 1 / RQ1)

1. Can you describe the traditional roles and responsibilities of chiefs in the Effutu Traditional Area,
historically and today?
2. In what ways has the role of the chieftaincy institution changed since the pre-colonial and
colonial periods to now?
3. What specific roles do you or your traditional council currently play in local governance and
community decision-making (e.g., land administration, dispute resolution, development
mobilisation)?
 4. How would you describe your involvement in socio-economic infrastructure projects (e.g.,
schools, health facilities, roads, sanitation) in your area between 2018 and 2023?
5. What role do queen mothers play alongside chiefs in governance and development in this
traditional area?
6. How does the annual Aboakyir festival, or other customary practices, reinforce your authority or
legitimacy in governance matters?
7. What role have you or the traditional council played in natural resource and environmental
management (e.g., land use, fishing regulations, sacred groves) in recent years?

PART D: CHALLENGES — DISPUTES AND POLITICAL INTERFERENCE (Objective 2 /

RQ2)
8. What chieftaincy disputes (e.g., succession, boundary, land) has the Effutu Traditional Area
experienced between 2018 and 2023, and how have they affected governance?
9. Have you experienced or observed political interference in chieftaincy or traditional decision-
making processes? Can you give examples?
10. What other challenges (e.g., legal ambiguity, resource constraints, lack of formal recognition)
limit the effectiveness of traditional authorities in governance?
11. How do these challenges affect your working relationship with the Effutu Municipal Assembly
and other state institutions?
12. In your view, how has urbanisation or modernisation affected customary land administration and
dispute levels in this area?

PART E: COLLABORATION WITH MMDAs (Objective 3 / RQ3)

13. Describe your current working relationship with the Effutu Municipal Assembly. What form does
this collaboration take?
14. Are there formal structures (e.g., committees, consultative forums) through which you engage
with the Assembly? If yes, how effective are they?
15. What institutional bottlenecks (legal, administrative, or political) hinder effective collaboration
between the traditional council and the Assembly?
16. What strategies would you suggest to improve collaboration and formal integration between
traditional authorities and the Assembly?
17. What policy changes, if any, would you recommend to strengthen the role of chieftaincy in local
governance and sustainable development?

PART F: CLOSING
18. Is there anything else about the role of traditional authorities in governance in the Effutu
Traditional Area that you would like to add?
Thank you for your time and valuable insights.
INSTRUMENT B: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR QUEEN MOTHERS
Target respondents: Ohemaa/queen mothers within the Effutu Traditional Area and its divisions.
Estimated duration: 40–50 minutes.

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Good morning/afternoon. My name is Desmond Moses Awuni, a researcher from the University of
Education, Winneba. I am conducting a study on "The Role of Traditional Authorities in Local
Governance and Political Decision-Making in Ghana: A Study of the Effutu Traditional Area." This
interview is designed to gather your views and experiences on this topic.
Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may decline to answer any question or withdraw from
the discussion at any time without any consequence. All information you provide will be treated with
strict confidentiality and used solely for academic purposes. With your permission, this session will be
audio-recorded to ensure accuracy of data capture; the recording and transcripts will be stored securely
and destroyed after the study has been examined.
Do I have your permission to proceed and to audio-record this session? Yes ☐ No ☐

PART B: BIODATA OF RESPONDENT

Date of interview
Position/title
Division/community
Number of years in office
Age range

PART C: ROLES IN GOVERNANCE AND DEVELOPMENT (Objective 1 / RQ1)

19. What is the traditional and historical role of the queen mother in the governance of the Effutu
Traditional Area?
20. How has this role evolved, particularly regarding recognition within the formal chieftaincy and
local governance structures?
21. What specific responsibilities do you currently hold with respect to community welfare, women,
children, and vulnerable groups?
22. In what ways are you involved in development initiatives such as education, maternal health,
sanitation, or economic empowerment programmes?
23. How do you collaborate with chiefs and the traditional council in governance and decision-
making processes?
PART D: CHALLENGES (Objective 2 / RQ2)
24. What challenges do you face in having your role recognised in formal governance structures (e.g.,
by the Assembly or state institutions)?
25. Have gender-related barriers affected your participation in local governance or decision-making?
Please explain.
26. What chieftaincy or succession-related disputes, if any, have affected your office or the wider
traditional council?

PART E: COLLABORATION AND STRATEGIES (Objective 3 / RQ3)

27. How do you currently engage, if at all, with the Effutu Municipal Assembly or other government
bodies?
28. What strategies would improve the formal recognition and integration of queen mothers in local
governance structures?

PART F: CLOSING
29. Is there anything else you would like to share about your role in governance and development in
the Effutu Traditional Area?
Thank you for your time and valuable insights.
INSTRUMENT C: INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR MMDA OFFICIALS /
LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES
Target respondents: Effutu Municipal Chief Executive, Municipal Coordinating Director, Presiding
Member, Assembly members, and heads of relevant decentralised departments (e.g., Physical Planning,
Lands, Social Welfare).
Estimated duration: 40–50 minutes.

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Good morning/afternoon. My name is Desmond Moses Awuni, a researcher from the University of
Education, Winneba. I am conducting a study on "The Role of Traditional Authorities in Local
Governance and Political Decision-Making in Ghana: A Study of the Effutu Traditional Area." This
interview is designed to gather your views and experiences on this topic.
Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may decline to answer any question or withdraw from
the discussion at any time without any consequence. All information you provide will be treated with
strict confidentiality and used solely for academic purposes. With your permission, this session will be
audio-recorded to ensure accuracy of data capture; the recording and transcripts will be stored securely
and destroyed after the study has been examined.
Do I have your permission to proceed and to audio-record this session? Yes ☐ No ☐

PART B: BIODATA OF RESPONDENT

Date of interview
Position/designation
Department/unit
Number of years in current role
Sex

PART C: ROLES OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES AS OBSERVED BY THE ASSEMBLY

(Objective 1 / RQ1)
30. From the Assembly's perspective, what roles do traditional authorities in the Effutu Traditional
Area currently play in local governance and development?
31. In what specific development projects (e.g., infrastructure, land acquisition, sanitation, security)
have traditional authorities been involved between 2018 and 2023?
32. How does the Assembly formally or informally involve chiefs and queen mothers in planning or
decision-making processes?

PART D: CHALLENGES (Objective 2 / RQ2)

 33. What challenges has the Assembly encountered in working with traditional authorities (e.g.,
overlapping jurisdiction over land, delays in decision-making, chieftaincy disputes)?
34. Have chieftaincy disputes in the Effutu Traditional Area affected Assembly operations or
development projects? Please give examples.
35. To what extent do you consider there to be political interference in chieftaincy affairs, and how
does this affect the Assembly's relationship with traditional authorities?
36. What legal or constitutional ambiguities, if any, complicate the Assembly's collaboration with the
traditional council?

PART E: COLLABORATION AND STRATEGIES (Objective 3 / RQ3)

37. What formal structures or mechanisms currently exist for collaboration between the Assembly
and the traditional council (e.g., committees, consultative meetings)?
38. How effective are these mechanisms in practice?
39. What institutional reforms or strategies would you recommend to strengthen collaboration
between the Assembly and traditional authorities?
40. What role, if any, should traditional ecological/customary knowledge play in the Assembly's
natural resource and land-use planning?

PART F: CLOSING
41. Is there anything else you would like to add regarding the Assembly's relationship with traditional
authorities in the Effutu Traditional Area?
Thank you for your time and valuable insights.
INSTRUMENT D: FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE FOR
COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Target participants: 6–10 community members per group (a mix of youth, elders, traders, and opinion
leaders), drawn from communities within the Effutu Traditional Area. Aim for 3–4 groups to reach the
target sample.
Estimated duration: 60–75 minutes.
Materials needed: Audio recorder, notebook, name tags/cards, flip chart (optional), seating arranged in
a circle.

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Good morning/afternoon. My name is Desmond Moses Awuni, a researcher from the University of
Education, Winneba. I am conducting a study on "The Role of Traditional Authorities in Local
Governance and Political Decision-Making in Ghana: A Study of the Effutu Traditional Area." This
discussion is designed to gather your views and experiences on this topic.
Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may decline to answer any question or withdraw from
the discussion at any time without any consequence. All information you provide will be treated with
strict confidentiality and used solely for academic purposes. With your permission, this session will be
audio-recorded to ensure accuracy of data capture; the recording and transcripts will be stored securely
and destroyed after the study has been examined.
Do I have your permission to proceed and to audio-record this session? Yes ☐ No ☐

Ground rules to state before starting: (1) There are no right or wrong answers — we want your honest
opinions and experiences; (2) Please allow one person to speak at a time; (3) Everything shared here will
remain confidential and used only for this research; (4) You are free to disagree respectfully with each
other.

PART B: ICEBREAKER
42. Briefly, what does the chieftaincy institution in this community mean to you personally?

PART C: ROLES OF TRADITIONAL AUTHORITIES (Objective 1 / RQ1)

43. What roles do you see traditional authorities (chiefs, queen mothers, elders) playing in the
governance and development of your community?
44. Can you share examples of development projects (schools, roads, health facilities, sanitation) in
which traditional leaders have been involved in the last five years?
45. How, if at all, has the role of chiefs changed over time in your community?
46. What role do traditional authorities play in managing land and natural resources (e.g., farmland,
fishing, sacred sites) in your area?

PART D: CHALLENGES (Objective 2 / RQ2)

 47. What chieftaincy disputes, if any, have affected your community, and how have they impacted
daily life or development?
48. Have you observed or experienced situations where politics or politicians have interfered in
chieftaincy matters? Please share examples.
49. What other problems affect the ability of traditional leaders to serve the community effectively?

PART E: RELATIONSHIP WITH THE ASSEMBLY AND STRATEGIES FOR

IMPROVEMENT (Objective 3 / RQ3)
50. How well do you think traditional authorities and the Effutu Municipal Assembly work together?
51. What problems, if any, arise when the two systems (traditional and modern government) both try
to handle the same issue (e.g., land disputes)?
52. What suggestions do you have for improving collaboration between chiefs and the Assembly for
the benefit of the community?

PART F: CLOSING
53. Is there anything else about the role of traditional authorities in governance that we have not
discussed but that you feel is important?
Thank all participants for their time and contributions.
INSTRUMENT E: PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION CHECKLIST
Purpose: To systematically document firsthand observations of traditional authorities' interactions,
practices, and governance activities within the Effutu Traditional Area (e.g., palace/council sittings,
durbars, dispute-settlement sessions, community meetings involving both chiefs and Assembly officials,
and the Aboakyir festival where relevant).

SECTION 1: OBSERVATION DETAILS

Date of observation
Location/setting
Type of event/activity observed
Approximate number of people present
Duration of observation

SECTION 2: GOVERNANCE ROLES OBSERVED (Objective 1)

• Evidence of chief(s)/elders presiding over or participating in community decision-making
• Evidence of queen mother's involvement in welfare or development discussions
• Discussion or handling of land allocation, infrastructure, or development matters
• Use of customary protocols, symbols, or rituals during proceedings (e.g., libation, linguist staff,
stool regalia)
• Presence and role of any local government (Assembly) representative at the event
Notes/description:

SECTION 3: CHALLENGES OBSERVED (Objective 2)

• Evidence or discussion of ongoing chieftaincy disputes (succession, boundary, land)
• Evidence of tension, disagreement, or political undertones in proceedings
• Signs of resource, logistical, or capacity constraints affecting proceedings
Notes/description:

SECTION 4: INTERACTION WITH FORMAL GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES (Objective 3)

• Nature of interaction between traditional authorities and any Assembly official present
• Evidence of joint planning, consultation, or collaborative activity
• Apparent power dynamics or protocol observed between the two systems
Notes/description:

SECTION 5: GENERAL REFLECTIONS

Researcher's overall impressions and any other relevant contextual notes:
INSTRUMENT F: KEY INFORMANT INTERVIEW GUIDE —
REGIONAL HOUSE OF CHIEFS / JUDICIAL COMMITTEE
REPRESENTATIVE (OPTIONAL/SUPPLEMENTARY)
Target respondent: A representative of the Central Regional House of Chiefs, Judicial Committee, or a
chieftaincy/land law expert, to provide broader institutional and legal context for triangulation.
Estimated duration: 30–40 minutes.

PART A: INTRODUCTION AND INFORMED CONSENT

Good morning/afternoon. My name is Desmond Moses Awuni, a researcher from the University of
Education, Winneba. I am conducting a study on "The Role of Traditional Authorities in Local
Governance and Political Decision-Making in Ghana: A Study of the Effutu Traditional Area." This
interview is designed to gather your views and experiences on this topic.
Your participation is entirely voluntary, and you may decline to answer any question or withdraw from
the discussion at any time without any consequence. All information you provide will be treated with
strict confidentiality and used solely for academic purposes. With your permission, this session will be
audio-recorded to ensure accuracy of data capture; the recording and transcripts will be stored securely
and destroyed after the study has been examined.
Do I have your permission to proceed and to audio-record this session? Yes ☐ No ☐

KEY QUESTIONS
54. From an institutional/legal standpoint, what is the current constitutional and legal framework
governing the roles of traditional authorities in local governance in Ghana?
55. What patterns of chieftaincy disputes (e.g., succession, land, boundary) have been most common
in the Central Region, and specifically the Effutu Traditional Area, in recent years?
56. How do cases of alleged political interference in chieftaincy affairs typically arise, and how are
they addressed through the Houses of Chiefs or judicial system?
57. What institutional bottlenecks currently limit effective collaboration between traditional councils
and MMDAs across the region?
58. What policy or legal reforms would you recommend to improve integration of traditional
authorities into formal local governance structures?
Thank you for your time and expert insights.