GHC20m allocated as seed capital for the creation of new regions – Minister

General News on Thursday, November 29, 2018

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2018-11-29

Following the categorical rejection of a decree challenging the creation of new areas of the country by the Supreme Court, the Minister of Reorganization and Development, Dan Kwaku Botwe, presented the timetable of actions taken.

Sending to a room full of journalists Thursday, he revealed that the government had allocated some 20 million GHS to additional regions awaiting confirmation after the referendum organized by the Electoral Commission.

Mr. Botwe explained that, according to the decision of the Supreme Court, Article 5 of the Constitution stated that more than 60% of the registered voters in the regions where the proposed merger would take place were to vote, while 80% voters had to vote. in favor of the merger to occur.

On the other hand, Article 5, Clause 6, stipulated that 50% of the persons entitled to vote in a referendum for the creation of new regions had to vote, while 80% of the electors had to approve the creation of the new region. .

"Article 5.6) stipulates that" a question submitted to a referendum by referendum under paragraphs (4) and (5) may be considered as settled by referendum only if at least fifty percent of the persons qualified to vote have voted in a referendum and at least eighty percent of the votes cast were cast in favor of this question. "

If the results of the referendum are favorable to the creation of new regions, His Excellency, the President is requested, under Article 5 (8) of the 1992 Constitution, to issue a CI giving effect or allowing the results of the referendum for the creation of new regions. "

The minister added that the government had allocated 120 million GHS to all six regions, but that the referendum was likely to result in a YES vote in the six proposed regions.

He also reiterated that the creation of the region was not a political agenda, noting that this was not the first time the issue was raised.

"There is significant evidence that requests for the creation of new regions have not been addressed to His Excellency, the President alone, but also to other political leaders such as His Excellency, Flt. Lt Jerry John Rawlings, John Agyekum Kufuor, John Evans Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama. It is obvious that all past governments have also been seized of the issue over the years.

It is instructive to note that the 2016 National Democratic Congress (NDC) Manifesto, the main opposition party, contains a commitment to facilitate the creation of five (5) new regions if the NDC had succeeded in the 2016 elections. .

The 2016 New Patriotic Party (NPP) Manifesto, the ruling party, announced the creation of the Northwest Region from the existing Western Region. This clearly shows that the two main parties are in agreement on the issue of creating new administrative regions. "He revealed

According to the EC collaboration with the Ministry, the Attorney General's Office and the Ministry of Justice, as well as the Special Parliamentary Committee on Subsidiary Legislation to finalize the IF (ie the IC 109 of 2018) for the holding of the referendum that was tabled in Parliament on October 30 will expire today November 29th. The Commission is therefore free to follow up on its roadmap set for 27 December 2018 for the conduct of the referendum.