'Let the decentralisation agenda work' - Eastern Regional Minister

The Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Darfuor has called on all to allow the decentralisation agenda of government to work by minimising agitations on the siting of district capitals and appointment of government nominees.

He observed that the sitting of a district capital at a town, did not mean that the rest would not benefit from the developmental projects, adding that it was just to fulfil a requirement of having an administrative capital.

The Regional Minister who was speaking at the inauguration of the Akyem-Abuakwa North district at Kukurantumi said “all the 16 towns in the newly created districts will receive their fair share of the national cake whiles, Tafo would continue to be the commercial capital”.

It will be recalled that an attempt to inaugurate the newly created district carved out from the East-Akyem municipality alongside 37 others nationwide on March 15, 2018 was aborted due to an injunction placed on the formal inauguration by a group of citizens against the siting of the capital at Kukurantumi.

The group wanted the capital of the district to be sited at Akyem- Tafo, instead of Kukurantumi and so on the eve of the inauguration, they secured an injunction to stop the inauguration, however a Koforidua High court, threw out the motion.

The new district has a 26-member assembly including; 16 elected, eight government appointees, presiding member and a chief executive.

The Member of Parliament (MP) for the Abuakwa North Constituency, Mrs Gifty Twum Ampofo appealed for peace among all and sundry within the municipality after the court ruling and called on both factions to rally behind the growth of the new district.

The Abuakwa South Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Owusu Twum Ampofo said a coherent local administration required team work, co-operation and the capacity to manage the scarce resources judiciously and therefore, implored the technocrats to adopt new values and attitudes to work.