Commission of Enquiry into creation of new regions ends sitting

The Commission of Enquiry into the creation of new regions ended its sitting in Accra last Tuesday, with the assurance that nothing would be left without consideration.

The Chairman of the commission, Mr Justice Stephen Allan Brobbey, who gave an assurance in his closing remarks, reminded the petitioners that neither the government nor the commission had formed any views on regional capitals should their requests be granted.

He added that issues bordering on regional capitals would be looked at in the course of time.

Mamprugu

The last group to have its turn on the final day of the public hearing last Tuesday included the chiefs and people from the Mamprugu area of the Northern Region, led by their Spokesperson, Professor John S. Nabila.

The people of Mamprugu have petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the creation of the North-East Region, to be carved out of the present Northern Region.

Should their request be honoured, the North East Region would include Mamprugu-Moaduri, Walewale-West Mamprusi, East Mamprusi, Bunkprugu-Nakpanduri and Chereponi.

Hearings

Last Tuesday’s public hearing, which was the last of the hearings, began with petitioners from the Western Region, led by the traditional rulers who have proposed the creation of the Western-North Region from the present Western Region.

Then there were chiefs and people from the Oti area of the Volta Region, who have also petitioned for the creation of the Oti Region from the present Volta Region.

Petitioners from the Brong Ahafo Region were the next to appear for the hearing. They proposed the creation of the Bono East and the Ahafo regions from the present Brong Ahafo Region, while petitioners from Gonjaland and Mamprugu in the Northern Region, proponents of the Savannah and the North-East regions, respectively, also had their turn.

Successful exercise

The Minister for Regional Re-organisation and Development, Mr Dan Botwe, expressed appreciation to all stakeholders, including the petitioners, the media and the public, for turning up in their numbers to make the exercise successful.

“Nobody can say he or she has been left out because anybody was free to submit a memorandum,” he said.

The nine-member Commission of Enquiry is chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge and former Chief Justice of The Gambia, Mr Justice Brobbey, with a former Government Statistician Dr Grace Bediako;  the AMEER and Missionary in charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission in Ghana, Maulvi Mohammed Bin-Salih; a former Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, and a local government expert, Ms Gladys Gillian Naadu Tetteh, as members.

The rest are a retired Director of Education  Mr Robert Ajene; Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cape Coast, Dr David Wellington Essaw; Prof. George Owusu of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, and a legal practitioner,  Ms Josephine Hughes.

The commission commenced its hearings on November 21, last year and met in-camera with petitioners, mostly chiefs, from parts of the Western, Northern, Volta and Brong Ahafo regions.

It then moved to the respective regions and towns to seek the views of the people, after which it again offered another opportunity at a three-day forum in Accra for members of the public to appear before it to state their cases or submit memoranda.