This is attributed to the fact that they enjoy greater popular trust and more contact with citizens than a lot of other leaders.

According to the report, a broader consultation with traditional and religious leaders who have close interaction with the people they lead, might be an effective way to court public cooperation in the implementation of anti-COVID-19 measures.

One of the key findings of the Afrobarometer survey shows that religious and traditional leaders are among the most trusted officials in Ghana, trusted “somewhat” or “a lot” by 64% and 55% of Ghanaians, respectively.

That is, they enjoy greater popular trust than parliamentarians (41%), assembly men and women (41%), and metropolitan, municipal, and district chief executives (38%).

Trust in religious and traditional leaders is high in most key socio-demographic groups. However, rural, less uneducated, older, and relatively poor citizens tend to trust them more than their urban, younger, highly educated, and relatively well-off counterparts.

Also, the survey reveals that Ghanaians are more likely to contact religious and traditional leaders than most other officials to discuss important problems. Four in 10 respondents (40%) said in 2017 that they had contacted a religious leader at least once during the past year. On the other hand, one in four (26%) report having contacted a traditional leader in the year preceding the 2019 survey, compared to 20% for political party officials and 15% for parliamentarians.

It said more than two-thirds (69%) of Ghanaians believe traditional leaders have “a lot” or “some” influence in the governance of their local communities. Recognition of traditional leaders’ influence is widespread among key socio-demographic groups, including urban, young, and economically well-off respondents.

Government has eased restrictions on people’s movements but maintains social distancing directives and the ban on public gatherings. In view of this, there is an urgent need for increased public sensitization to ensure that Ghanaians act responsibly to minimize the spread of the virus.

To improve compliance with social distancing measures and produce community-based solutions at little or no political or financial cost to the government, the report suggests that an effective strategy might be to leverage the influence of trusted informal leaders as key resources in increasing public awareness and courting public cooperation. Adding that, broader consultations and active involvement of religious and traditional leaders, along with other local stakeholders cannot be ignored.

The Afrobarometer team in Ghana, led by the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), interviewed 2,400 adult Ghanaians between 16th September and 3rd October 2019. A sample of this size yields country-level results with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Previous surveys were conducted in Ghana in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2014, and 2017.

Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life. Seven rounds of surveys were completed in up to 38 countries between 1999 and 2018. Round 8 surveys in 2019/2020 are planned in at least 35 countries. Afrobarometer conducts face-to-face interviews in the language of the respondent’s choice with nationally representative samples.