Report of the Commission of Inquiry Into the Creation of New Regions
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COMMISSION OF INQUIRY REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE CREATION OF NEW REGIONS EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF NATIONAL RESOURCES FOR BALANCED DEVELOPMENT PRESENTED TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO ON TUESDAY, 26TH DAY OF JUNE, 2018 COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO In case of reply, the CREATION OF NEW REGIONS number and date of this Tel: 0302-906404 Letter should be quoted Email: [email protected] Our Ref: Your Ref: REPUBLIC OF GHANA 26th June, 2018 H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of the Republic of Ghana Jubilee House Accra Dear Mr. President, SUBMISSION OF THE REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE CREATION OF NEW REGIONS You appointed this Commission of Inquiry into the Creation of New Regions (Commission) on 19th October, 2017. The mandate of the Commission was to inquire into six petitions received from Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Volta and Western Regions demanding the creation of new regions. In furtherance of our mandate, the Commission embarked on broad consultations with all six petitioners and other stakeholders to arrive at its conclusions and recommendations. The Commission established substantial demand and need in all six areas from which the petitions emanated. On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission recommends the creation of six new regions out of the following regions: Brong-Ahafo; Northern; Volta and Western Regions. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure and honour that we forward to you, under the cover of this letter, our report titled: “Equitable Distribution of National Resources for Balanced Development”. We wish to place on record our honour and privilege for this opportunity to be of service to the motherland. Please accept, Mr President, the assurances of our highest consideration. Justice S.A Brobbey (Retired) Chairman SIGNATURE PAGE No. Name of Commissioner Personal Details Signature Justice S. A Brobbey Retired Supreme Court 1 Chairman Judge Dr. Grace Bediako Former Government 2 Commissioner Statistician AMEER, Missionary in- Maulvi Mohammed Bin-Salih 3 charge, Ahmadiyya Muslim Commissioner Mission, Ghana Prof. Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa Former Vice Chancellor, 4 Commissioner KNUST, Kumasi Ms. Gladys Tetteh 5 Local Government Expert Commissioner Mr. Robert Ajene Retired Director of 6 Commissioner Education Dr. David Wellington Essaw Senior Research Fellow, 7 Commissioner University of Cape Coast Professor, Institute of Statistical, Social & Economic Research Prof. George Owusu 8 (ISSER)/Director, Centre Commissioner for Urban Management Studies, University of Ghana Ms. Josephine Hughes 9 Legal Practitioner Commissioner Mr. Jacob Saah 10 Legal Practitioner Secretary ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Commission of Inquiry into the Creation of New Regions (Commission) expresses its profound gratitude to H.E. President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the confidence reposed in us and the opportunity to be of service to our beloved country. The Commission is grateful to Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Ocquaye, Speaker of Parliament and the Leadership of Parliament for affording us the opportunity to interact with the honourable members of Parliament from Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Volta and Western Regions. The Commission is also grateful to Hon. Akosua Frema Osei-Opare, Chief of Staff and the staff of the Office of the President for their invaluable support. The Commission expresses its gratitude to Hon. Daniel Botwe (MP), Minister of Regional Reorganisation and Development, his Deputy and staff without whose support, (especially on matters relating to logistics and publicity) the Commission would have struggled to achieve its mandate. The Commission acknowledges the support of the Regional Ministers, Deputy Regional Ministers and staff of the Regional Co-ordinating Councils in the Brong-Ahafo, Northern, Volta and Western Regions. The Upper East Regional Minister also deserves commendation for his support when the Commission was in Bolgatanga. Further, the Commission would like to place on record its appreciation to the National House of Chiefs as well as the Regional Houses of Chiefs of the Brong-Ahafo, Northern Region, Volta and Western Regions for sharing their views on the demands for the creation of new Regions. The Yagbonwura, the Nayiri and the Asantehene also deserve thanks for sharing their thoughts with the Commission. The petitioners from the under-listed proposed regions deserve to be thanked for their assistance in this assignment: Western North Region, Oti Region, Ahafo Region, Bono East Region, Savannah Region and North East Region. The Commission is grateful to all the participants at its public hearings and those who made written submissions. The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and the decentralized agencies in the four regions were also very helpful in their contributions. The role played by the media, especially, the Information Services Department in recording and disseminating information on the work of the Commission to the public deserves commendable mention. Finally, the Commission also acknowledges all persons and institutions who in various ways assisted the work of the Commission, particularly those listed in Appendix 1. i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CEPS Customs, Excise and Preventive Service CHRAJ Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice CHPS Community-Based Health Planning and Services CI Constitutional Instrument CPP Convention Peoples Party DCE District Chief Executive DPA District Planning Authority ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product GES Ghana Education Service GSS Ghana Statistical Service GPRTU Ghana Private Road Transport Union HE His Excellency INGO International Non-Governmental Organisations JHS Junior High School JCC Joint Consultative Committee LNGOs Local Non-Governmental Organizations MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies MLGRD Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development MMDCEs Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives MMDAs Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies MoFA Ministry of Food and Agriculture ii MoRRD Ministry of Regional Reorgnisation and Development MPs Members of Parliament NADMO National Disaster Management Organisation NCCE National Commission for Civic Education NDC National Democratic Congress NDPC National Development Planning Commission NPP New Patriotic Party PNDC Provisional National Defence Council PNDCL Provisional National Defence Council Law PWDs Persons with Disability SHS Senior High School SADC Southern African Development Community UCC University of Cape Coast UN United Nations iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ i LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS .................................................................................................... ii LIST OF APPENDICES ........................................................................................................ xvii LIST OF TABLES .....................................................................................................................xi LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................................xvi EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... xix Introduction ............................................................................................................................. xix Strategies for Accomplishing the Commission’s Objectives ....................................................xx Major Findings ........................................................................................................................ xxi Conclusions and recommendations .........................................................................................xxv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 1.1 Background to the Establishment of the Commission of Inquiry into the Creation of New Regions ............................................................................................................................1 1.2 Establishment and Membership of the Commission of Inquiry .......................................2 1.3 Terms of Reference of the Commission ............................................................................3 1.4 Inauguration of the Commission ......................................................................................4 1.5 The Secretariat .................................................................................................................4 1.6 The use of names for Regions and Areas ..........................................................................4 1.7 Organisation of the Report ...............................................................................................5 CHAPTER TWO: EVOLUTION AND RATIONALE FOR THE CREATION OF REGIONS IN GHANA .............................................................................................................6 2.1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................6 2.2 Administrative Regions of Ghana under British Colonial Rule .......................................6 2.3 Evolution of Political Administrative Regions in Post-Independence Era .......................9