Daniel Kwaku Botwe
Government has budgeted GH¢120 million as seed money for the provision of critical infrastructure in the proposed six new regions in the event that the electorate vote in favour of the creation of the regions in the upcoming referendum.
Each region is expected to receive GH¢20 million for the provision of social amenities such as hospitals, schools, roads, among others.
Minister of Regional Reorganization and Development, Daniel Kwaku Botwe, made this known to journalists yesterday in Accra at the Meet-The-Press Series organized by the Ministry of Information a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a suit challenging the decision of the Electoral Commission (EC) to only allow residents in selected areas earmarked for the creation of the new regions to vote in the referendum.
According to the minister, “2019 Budget and Economic Policy has allocated GH¢20,000,000.00 per new region as seed money for the provision of critical infrastructure to enable the new regions to take off smoothly.”
He added that “should the results of the referendum be favourable for the creation of new regions, His Excellency, the President is enjoined by Article 5(8) of the 1992 Constitution to issue a CI giving effect or enabling effect to the results of the referendum for the creation of new regions.”
The minister revealed that the Constitutional Instrument (C.I. 109), which would set the guidelines for the conduct of the referendum by the EC matured yesterday, exactly 21 days after it was laid before Parliament for consideration.
He added that the “EC now has the green light to conduct the referendum; the way is now clear for the process to come to its logical conclusion by 27 December 2018.”
“There will therefore be 16 administrative regions in Ghana, if the referendum returns a yes vote in all the six proposed regions.”
Broad Consultations
In apparent response to individuals like the President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede IVX, who claimed they were not consulted over the creation of the new regions, Mr. Botwe added that there had been extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders like traditional rulers from the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs, Members of Parliament (MPs) from the four regions that new ones would be carved out, among others.
New regions likely to be created are expected to be known as the Oti from the existing Volta Region; Ahafo from Brong Ahafo Region; Western North from Western Region, North East and Savannah Regions from the Northern Region.
The EC, headed by Jean Mensa, has set December 27, 2018, for the referendum on the creation of the six regions.
‘I Wasn’t Worried’
Asked whether the ministry was concerned about the possibility of the Supreme Court ruling in favour of the petitioners in the case against the EC, the minister indicated that his outfit was not worried because “the government was not on trial.”
He said government has not attempted to influence the process and would continue to leave the indigenes in the areas to decide for themselves.
He, however, revealed that if the court had ruled in against the EC, the stakeholders might have postponed the referendum.
The move to create the new regions is based on demand from residents in the areas pursuant to Article 5 (2) of the 1992 Constitution.
On 19th October, 2017, a nine-member Commission of Inquiry, headed by Justice Stephen Allan Brobbey, was set up to evaluate the request of the petitioners.
By Melvin Tarlue