The National Peace Council has warned authorities who will be tasked to ensure the development of the additional six new regions to guard against corruption as it can whittle away development.
It stressed that, “the additional six new regions created by the Akufo-Addo-led government will bring the needed development in those areas, but authorities must guard against corruption as it can whittle away the possibility of those developments”.
Reverend Professor
Emmanuel Asante, Chairman of the Council insisted that creation of the new
regions will definitely bring development and called on the government not to
concentrate its development agenda in only the regional capitals but
decentralise development for the benefit of all the people in the region.
“It will bring development in the sense that the
new regions will have regional ministers, who are going to have their staff and
all sort of things but I’ll say that development should not be concentrated on
the capitals.
“You need decentralisation of planned
development in the regions and I don’t see why if the capital is at Goaso, the
regional hospital must be at Goaso and everything must be at Goaso since development
should be distributed to the various centres like Bechem, Duayaw Nkwanta,
Kukuom and all other places for all to have their share.
“Once that is
done, there will be decentralised development and I’m sure that the people will
benefit a lot and the regions will definitely bring the development that is
needed in those areas, my only prayer is that we’ll be truthful and honest and
not allow corruption which is the bane of African countries to whittle away the
possibility of development in those places,” Rev Prof Asante pointed out.
The creation of the additional new regions was a
campaign promise of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) during the 2016 elections.
After the NPP won the polls, a commission of inquiry, headed by a retired justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Stephen Brobbey was instituted to ensure the creation of the regions.
Accordingly, Oti, Bono East, Western North, Ahafo, Savannah and North East regions were created. –classfmonline.com
