Chiefs and people from the Bono East area seated at the public hearing
Spokesperson for the proposed Bono East Region, Professor Christopher Ameyaw-Akumfi, has indicated that indigenes of Bono East have suffered undue injustice for several decades.
He, therefore, stressed the need for President Akufo-Addo to do everything possible to create the proposed region.
Speaking at a public hearing organized by the commission of inquiry into the creation of the proposed new regions yesterday at the Accra International Conference Centre, Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi, explained that the injustice spreads across political appointments and distribution of the national cake – such as provision of schools, hospitals, roads, among others.
According to him, since 1959 when the Brong-Ahafo Region was created, there had been only two regional ministers from the Bono East side.
That, he lamented, was in spite of the fact that there had been about 25 regional ministers – 23 of them hailing from the western part of the region – claiming, “That is injustice!”
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi said there are competent personalities from the eastern corridor who could have been appointed or assigned ministerial jobs, but they had been discriminated against by the various regimes over the years.
He painted a picture of discrimination in the execution of developmental projects in the Brong-Ahafo Region, with the western part seemingly being the beneficiary of most of the projects.
He was optimistic the creation of the region would bring an end to the decades-old injustice.
According to him, the creation of the region would give rise to the Bono East area having regional ministers who will have sympathy for their people and champion their cause.
Prof Ameyaw-Akumfi added that with the creation of the Bono East Region, attention would not be paid to population but the sizes of traditional areas would determine the siting of projects.
The commission commenced work after its inauguration by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Thursday, 19th October, 2017.
It was tasked to establish whether there was substantial demand for the creation of new regions out of existing ones based on petitions received by him (president) and advice from the Council of State as required by Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution.
It began its fact-finding mission with in-camera hearings with the petitioners at the Osu Castle, Accra in 2017 and later went to the various regions where the petitioners are demanding the creation of new regions to hold public hearings.
The current public hearings- the final in the series- are intended to give opportunity to individuals who wanted to make submissions at the regional public hearings but could not do so to make their submissions.
It is also meant for the petitioners to make their final case on why they think the regions should be created.
On Tuesday, April 10, the commission is expected to hold the last public hearing with petitioners from the Northern Region.
By Melvin Tarlue