Vice President of the Western Regional House of Chiefs, Awulae Amihere Kpanyili III, has said that even though the splitting of the present day Western Region may not guarantee the expected development, creating a new region presents a high possibility of improved development in that part of the region.
According to him, even though the splitting could be emotional, the people in the northern part of the Western Region must also be given the opportunity to get what they want in terms of development.
[contextly_sidebar id=”uViIku1Lz9CpPTihkr9QBPK5lln0ziAm”]Speaking to Citi News after a consultative process at the Western Regional House of Chiefs in Sekondi by the nine-member Commission of Enquiry set up by the President to look into the proposals received for the creation of new regions, Awulae Amihere Kpanyili, who is also the Paramount Chief for the Eastern Nzema Traditional Area, maintained that he is yet to read theories suggesting that new regions do not facilitate development.
“The possibility is high. If not, what is the alternative to development or supporting the northern part of the Western Region? We do not have any better one. So until we have something different, we cannot condemn what we are doing.”
He continued that, “we need to be practical with ourselves. But of course, people will say the district assembly will be the one to carry out development. It is true, but perhaps a region will be a boost.”
The Upper East and West Regions in Ghana were split in the 1980s, but development in the two regions leaves much to be desired.
However, Awulae Kpanyili III believes that should not be a case for a halt in the process, but rather, it should encourage the Commission of Enquiry to do more to help avoid those challenges.
“We can make a case for the Northern part of Ghana. They are still in need, and we always talk about what they should get and all that. Yes it could be a case study, but it is upon us to even do more studies in that area…whilst things are ongoing on, we can still be checking to see what are the negative aspects, and if it outweighs the positive part, I think it will come [during the public hearings]. But right now just for us not to kill the spirit of the commission from doing it work…for now they should do carry on!”
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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana