Residents of Volta Regional capital Ho, have hit the streets, Wednesday, to protest government's decision to split the Region into two.
Their protest which is themed: 'Save Volta now', follows a lawsuit filed at the Accra High Court by Chiefs of the South(Volta) challenging the commission of inquiry tasked to coalate views on the creation of a new region expected to be named Oti.
The residents have been demanding that government rescinds its decision on what they describe as a planned division of the Volta Region.
One of the residents who spoke in an interview said that "Our brothers at the North are very aware that it is a taboo for them to say that they want to be splitted from the Volta region. They should rather join us so that we can all push to acquire the necessary resources for all places to be developed. One fact is that there shouldnt be any comparison between the Northern part of Volta region and the South because the level of development is almost the same. Most areas are still underdeveloped with equally terrible roads."
He added that the way forward for development is not the redarmacation or division of the Volta Region but to entrench the district assembly process so that they will have enough autonomy to push for development.
The residents have therefore given government a 2 week ultimatum to address their concerns and consider the alternative given. They are also asking government to help develop infrastructure and solve the problems of the region rather than focussing on splitting the region.
Creation of new Regions
In recent years, there has been an outpouring of calls from chiefs and opinion leaders across Ghana for additional regions to be created. The incessant demand forced the government to set up a commission of inquiry to examine the pros and cons of creating additional regions.
Currently, Ghana is divided into ten regions, 275 electoral constituencies and 216 districts. The 1992 constitution stipulates that any decision to create additional regions in Ghana must ultimately be decided by the people through a referendum.