Ghana news: ‘New regions are not for votes’ says President Akufo-Addo
After much speculation by the Ghanaian citizens about why the six new regions in the country were created, President Akufo-Addo finally decided to shed some light on the issue. During a visit at Volta region where he stayed for three days, he disclosed that there were no political innuendoes that surrounded the move.
Ghana
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The President further elaborated on the matter, refuting claims that it was a politically instigated move aimed at securing him more votes. He argued that there were numerous regions which fell off his voter’s grid hence saw no point of terming it a vote-hunting mission.
According to the source he also turned down reports that the move was aimed at creating ethnic cliques in the country. He took a walk down memory lane to the days when the regions in Ghana were created. He reminded them that some of the regions such as the Western and Eastern region were created in the year 1952. Thus, this makes the total 4 and not 6. The fifth entry of the region was attributed to the Plebiscite in 1956.
President Akufo Addo relived the glory days of former president Kwame Nkrumah. He lauded the CPP government for also creating the Central Region and then the Upper region which was an affiliate of the north. By the mid-60s, they had grown from these 3 regions now to 8 regions. He further explained that the coming of the Jerry John Rawlings PNDC government led to the some of the changes. It was during their reign that the Upper Region was divided into the North, Upper West and the Upper East.
Upon further inquiry, he explained why the need to create the new regions was not just political as many had speculated. One of the major reasons for the changes was driven by factors such as the rapid urban development and population increase. Another factor that further catalyzed the change was the urgent need for quality governance which he says contributed a lot to the decision.
After he took office, President Akufo-Addo got numerous petitions regarding the matter of creating new regions in the country. He sought the Council of State’s input on these petitions. Upon further review by the Council of State, it was agreed that there was a public outcry for the creation of the new regions. As a requirement by the law, the Justice Commission was mandated to look into the matter at hand.
Author: Sheikh Huzaifa
