John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has announced plans to create a new region from the Upper East Region if elected.
During a visit to the Bawku Naba’s palace in the Upper East Region, Mahama revealed that a proposal has been submitted to the Speaker of Parliament through the Member of Parliament for Bawku, Mahama Ayariga.
Mahama argued that the new region would address pressing issues like the ongoing security crisis in the Bawku area and create more job opportunities.
He noted that the land size and population of the Bawku area are comparable to or exceed those of the North East Region, making a strong case for the creation of a new region.
He emphasised that the creation of new regions and districts is intended to decentralise governance and improve security.
“I discussed something with him. Your Member of Parliament, I’m aware he has written a letter to the Speaker requesting that another region should be created out of the Upper East Region to cover the six constituencies in the Bawku area.
“Bawku Naba raised it with me, and I told him in principle I think it’s a good idea for two reasons. One, for the reason of bringing government closer to the people.”
“That’s the principal reason for which we create new regions and new districts. And then the second reason is for security. Bawku is a special security zone because of the issues that have been happening here. And so it would be a good proposal to have a region so that it can be a focus to make sure that we deal with the security issues as well as we can.”
“And so, I don’t think it’s out of place because the criteria are dependent on population, they are dependent on land size, and they are dependent on economic viability.”