President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on chiefs and traditional rulers in the country to speak out against societal ills, including corruption, crime and injustices, especially ahead of the December polls.

According to the president, chiefs play an important role in the democratic dispensation of the country, hence, the need for them to make their voices heard.

Nana Akufo-Addo made the call when he joined the chiefs and people of Ahafo to inaugurate the Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs over the weekend.

He said the "government is determined to bring governance closer to the people and expand the boundaries of democracy in our country. 

"We are counting on you to help shape and integrate yourselves into these developments so that the peculiarly Ghanaian contribution to the concept of governance which emanates from the integration of royal aristocratic institution into the fabric of a republican democratic framework will be enhanced and strengthened to the benefit of the Ghanaian people."

"I urge you to speak out and join government’s fight against evils and the ills of our society – corruption, social and economic injustice, crime, illegal mining menace which we refer to as galamsey".

Nana Akufo-Addo further called on the chiefs to discard harmful cultural practices that discriminate against women and children.

"We should not be afraid of sidelining those rules and practices that do not fit in with modern, current realities and norms. 

"I refer especially, to practices that seek to discriminate against women and children.

"It is difficult again to find a justification for some of the widowhood rites that persist today among many of our people", he bemoaned.