Residents of Northern Volta are on the President’s heels to rapidly create a new region out of the current Volta region as already envisaged.
They want the President to quickly set up a commission of inquiry to find out and make the necessary recommendations needed for the setting up of the new regions.
A group known as Oti Region Support Group (ORSG), lament that the geographical orientation of the Volta and Northern regions makes them administratively inefficient and has for since independence disadvantaged the Northern Volta.
“We don’t need a fortune teller to diagnose the causes of extreme poverty, starvation and lagging infrastructure in this part of the country”, they say in a communique.
“It takes about 17 hours to travel from ‘Akaniem’ to “Ho” and another 17 hours to return. Hence for a civil/public servant to assess a single service at the regional capital, he ends up spending a whole week away from his main duty of providing services to the people”, they lamented.
They tell rawgist.com their situation has also extended to basic education in the area. “No wonder most of the basic and second cycle schools here always score 0% in B.E.C.E and WASSCE”.
They believe a new regional administration that is much closer to the people as well as the District Assemblies will do a better job of Coordination, Monitoring and Evaluation than the current Volta Regional Coordinating Council(VRCC) could offer.
The chiefs and people of northern Volta (Biakoye, Buem, Akan, Nkwanta North and South, Krachi East, Krachi West and Nchumuru) and the south eastern part of the Northern region (Kpandai) petitioned the presidency in 1989 to create a new region covering northern Volta and Kpandai in the Northern region.A follow up petition was made in 1995 and in 2007.
The creation of a new region at Northern Volta would be one of the best things to have ever happened to the inhabitants.
According to them, It never came as a surprise when the President on his campaign tour, reassured the people that his government would address their need.
They also acknowledged the fact that ex-president Mahama (then NDC presidential candidate) on his campaign tour made a similar promise. A Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in the northern Volta would bring governance closer to the people as well as increase public participation in the governance process; Making us “citizens and not spectators”.
The constitution still gives the president the power to initiate the process of creating new regions. He may, acting in accordance with the advice of the Council of State, appoint a commission of inquiry to inquire into the need, and to make recommendations on all the factors involved in the creation.
The Oti region support group in coalition with citizens from all districts in the proposed region at northern Volta called on all Voltarians and Ghanaians at large to support this noble move to accelerate the development of mother Ghana.
“Our doors are opened for any form of civic discussion to any of the issues raised in this communique”.
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