Suggestions have been made by sections of the public and members of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), that the attempt to split up traditional strongholds of the party in elections like the Volta and Northern Region, was part of efforts to weaken the NDC’s influence there.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Ni9qOozXoRxatOT8OzQFe4z3Cdrvuuzn”]However, speaking on   Eyewitness News on Friday, the Deputy Minister for Regional Re-organisation and Development, Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah, dismissed these claims, insisting that the move to split up the regions was not politically motivated.

“Electorally, it does not matter where a person votes, they can vote in the Volta Region or the Northern Region, your votes counts equally for whichever candidate or party. You’ll not necessarily have to divide a region to make an impact electorally. If the people decide to vote one way ,[it won’t change]. Thankfully that is not the objective,” he said.

He added that, despite only promising to create one new region in their manifesto prior to the elections, then candidate Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo had been presented with requests from several other regions for similar treatment should the New Patriotic Party win power.

“We indicated in our manifesto that we would create Western North Region, that was the only one we talked about. After the release of our manifesto, when Nana Addo went around the country, the people made demands for the regions to be created. The law does not stop anyone from making those demands, and when we won power, the petitions were thrown at him. It’s not NPP inspired,” he claimed.

Martin Adjei-Mensah Korsah also brushed aside claims that the Ashanti Region, which is a stronghold of the governing party had been shielded, stating that no petition had been received for the creation of a new region.

He however, revealed that, the creation of a new region from Brong Ahafo could affect sections of the Ashanti Region, as the two share a border.

“We received two petitions from the Northern Region to create two new regions, two petitions from the Brong Ahafo region and one petition each from the Volta Region and Western Region. There were no petitions from the other regions. If you look at the demand for the creation of the regions, it has almost included a section of the Ashanti Region which is in the Ahafo area, so that’s how the Ashanti Region may be affected should the Commission uphold the demands,“ he explained.

Commission of Enquiry for new regions inaugurated

The President, earlier this week inaugurated a nine-member Commission of  Enquiry to oversee the processes and report back in six months.

According to the deputy Minister, it was not a certainty that all the proposed new regions will be created as the people living would first have to approve it via a referendum.

“Leading minds around this project will argue that for proper decentralization, you need to have 20 administrative regions. The beautiful thing is that, for those who agree or disagree, the decision will go back to the people. When the Commission brings back their report, we’ll head to a referendum where 50 percent of the people must vote, and 80 percent of them must approve it. You can’t force it, it’s not the government deciding that it has to be.”

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By; Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Creation of new regions not politically motivated – Gov’t appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

President Nana Akufo-Addo inaugurated the commission on Thursday morning, which will be chaired by retired Supreme Court Justice, Stephen Allan Brobbey.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Mciu07kHSUV1cBAaGO4ht33diolWZ5Sb”]They are expected to conduct consultative sessions leading to referenda for the creation of the regions.

The attempts to create new regions are in fulfillment of the New Patriotic Party’s campaign promise to carve new regions out of the Brong Ahafo, Western, Northern and Volta Regions.

In line with the Constitution, the Council of State had unanimously informed the President that there was a substantial demand for the creation of new regions, and therefore advised him to appoint a Commission of Enquiry “to inquire into the need, and to make recommendations on all the factors involved in the creation of the new regions.”

The Commission of Enquiry will now begin the process of collating views for the creation of the proposed three new regions.

The Commission, upon the assumption of office, will tour the Volta, Western, Northern and the Brong Ahafo Regions, to solicit the views of residents on the creation of the new regions.

The Commission’s recommendations will subsequently be handed over to the Electoral Commission to organize the referenda on the matter.

50 percent of persons living within the proposed areas will be required to endorse the proposal for new regions, then the process of creating the new regions will begin.

Desire of the people

Speaking during the inauguration, President Akufo-Addo said this endeavor was in response to calls from citizens in these regions for decentralization to spark development.

“It has become clear to me that one of the most fundamental demands of our people is to live in a thriving economy which provides opportunities for all. The desire has found expression in several forms. One such form is for the re-organisation of our regional governance structure to enable government come closer to the people and thereby facilitate the rapid development of our nation and its economy.”

He also reminded that the demand for the creation of new regions is not a partisan issue, as they were made to other political leaders.

Indeed, in 2016, President John Dramani Mahama announced plans by the National Democratic Congress (NDC), government to possibly increase the number of the country’s administrative regions to 15, if given a second term at the December polls.

President Akufo-Addo said, this “clearly demonstrates a meeting of minds of the two major parties for the need of the creation of new administrative regions.”

The issue also came up for discussion when all the former living heads of state called on President Akufo-Addo earlier in 2017.

“The issue was discussed at length, and it was evident that all the past governments had also been seized with the matter over the years… Since I assumed office, many traditional authorities, civil society organisations and responsible citizens have also voiced their support for the creation of new regions,” he said.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citimfonline.com/Ghana

The post Commission of Enquiry for new regions inaugurated appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

On the Management Development Month series Wednesday on the Citi Breakfast Show, the Commercial Director of PZ Cussons, David Afflu, shared some tried and tested secrets on how brands can engage, satisfy and retain customers.

Listen to the full audio below:

The post David Afflu on Customer Retention (Audio) appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The series will run every morning, Mondays to Thursdays, at 9:00am on the Citi Breakfast Show in June.

The Management Development Month series features top-notch thinkers and practitioners from various business and academic fields, presenting insightful ideas on selected topics.

The series is sponsored by Airtel, Zenith Bank and the Student Loan Trust Fund.

This week the focus will be on Marketing and Customer Service with Professor Robert Hinson an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Ghana Business School speaking on the topic standing out among the crowd, effective branding.

Among other things, Prof. Hinson shared insights into the Ten Keys Of A Strong Brand, Seven Steps To Building A Global Brand and more.

Watch the video below for more insights.

By: Kojo Akoto Boateng/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Effective Branding – Notes of Prof. Robert Hinson appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.