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A group calling itself, Volta Coalition for Research and Advocacy (VoCRA), is raising issue with attempts to split the Volta Region, saying it poses threat to the security of the good people of the region, as well as the country.
In an open letter to the Chairman of the Commission of Enquiry on the creation of new regions, Justice S.A Brobbey, it warned that “dividing a region based on tribalism and language differences is a possible breach of sections of the 1992 constitution a serious threat to national security”.
The letter was signed by Destiny Awlimey and Koku Amenyaglo, Secretary and Convener respectively.
They congratulated the retired Supreme Court Judge on the honor granted him “by the President of the Republic of Ghana H.E. Akuffo Addo to chair the commission of enquiry on the creation of new regions” but prayed he and the other members of the don’t become icons of “destruction but a role model to the present generation and generations yet unborn”.
According to them, much as they are “very much aware of the constitutional process the government is abiding by and wish to commend government for respecting the constitution of the state,” there are some issues “which do not only undermine our sovereign rights as indigenes of the Volta Region of Ghana but also violate some sections of the 1992 constitution”.
“Per our intelligence gathering we have been reliably cognized that base on the language differences, a group of people ably supported by some chiefs at the northern belt of the Volta Region are associating themselves with an explicit tribe because they trace their linage towards that direction, thereby pushing strongly for the motion to claim the land”, the group said.
It pointed out that “as government may be swayed away by the euphoria, we would like to draw your attention to a possible breach of Article 35 clause 5 of the 1992 constitution under the Directive Principle of State Policy which states:
“(5) The State shall actively promote integration of the peoples of Ghana and prohibit discrimination and prejudice on the grounds of place of origin, circumstances of birth, ethnic origin, gender or religion, creed or other beliefs.
(6) Towards the achievement of the objectives stated in clause (5) of this article, the State shall take appropriate measures to –
(a) foster a spirit of loyalty to Ghana that overrides sectional, ethnic and other loyalties;
(c) provide adequate facilities for, and encourage, free mobility of people, goods and services throughout Ghana;”.
“Therefore any step in contradicting the constitution to this effect is a clear disintegration process and the good people of Volta region will frown to it” the letter said adding “If for nothing at all the, the continuous tribal clashes between the people of Alavanyo and Nkonya on the boundaries of their lands should serve as a yardstick for the looming threat to the security of the good people of the Volta Region and national security in general, should the concerns being raised be ignored”.
President Akufo-Addo, recently inaugurated a nine-member Commission of Inquiry to begin the process of collating views for the creation of the proposed three new regions.
The Committee has, Justice SA Brobbey, a retired Supreme Court judge, as its Chair.
The members are; Dr Grace Bediako, a former government statistician; Maulvi Mohammed Bin- Sale, Ameer, Missionary in-charge of Ahmadiyya Mulsim Mission in Ghana; Prof Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, former Vice Chancellor of the KNUST; Ms Gladys Cillian Naadu, a local governance expert; Mr Robert Ajene, retired Director of Education; Dr David Wellington Essaw, Senior Research Fellow, University of Cape Coast; Prof George Owusu, Institute of Statistical Social and Economic Research (ISSER) and Ms Josephine Hughes, a legal practitioner.
President Akufo-Addo, while inaugurating the Commission at the Flagstaff House, said the creation of new administrative regions, was
purely demand-driven and an area of common cause shared by the two major political parties.
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