President Akufo Addo has given indications that four (4) new regions would be created beginning 2018 to bring the total number of regions in Ghana to fourteen (14).
In view of this, the president has created a new ministry know as the Ministry for Regional Re-organisation and Development to be headed by Dan Kwaku Botwe, a former General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party and Member of Parliament for Okere constituency.
Justifying why there is the need for the creation of the new ministry, president Akufo Addo said “the process of devolution of power will require that we look again at the regional structures of our country all with the aim of trying to promote rapid development of Ghana…
“But the constitutional requirements for being able to create a region are very stringent and not easy. Apart from going through the legal requirements of petitioning the state… when you come to the consultative process, you’re talking about 50% of those who are affected by the decision having to come out to vote.
“That is the certification that the Electoral Commission has to make and when the 50% come out to vote, 80% of them must approve the demand of the creation of the region. We are now talking about a major exercise of political mobilization to be able to create a region…”
The New Regions
During the campaign for the 2016 elections, Nana Addo promised the people of the Western region that when he is given the nod, he would initiate the creation of a new region out of the Western region, to be called Western North region.
On Wednesday January 11, 2017 however the president hinted of the creation of three additional regions. He said “the four regions that we have chosen are those that we want to reshape and create new regions out of them.
“We’re talking about the Western North region which I committed myself to and the manifesto also committed itself to, the creation of the Ahafo region out of the Brong Ahafo, another express commitment on my part and backed by the manifesto, the northern region… Even on the thank you tour, that I took there a couple of weeks ago, there was an express demand that there should be a region created out of the eastern corridor by the Chiefs and people there, and then the Volta region where there has been a long standing demand for the creation of the Oti region.”
The president further indicated that work on the project would commence immediate but likely to start in 2018.
By Martin Asiedu-Dartey|3news.com|Ghana
Twitter: @3newsgh