Lower Denkyira Chiefs threaten non-cooperation with New Hemang lower Denkyira

The chiefs and people of Lower Denkyira in the Central Region on Tuesday threatened not to cooperate with the newly created Hemang lower Denkyira district if Jukwa near Cape Coast was not made the district Capital.

They also threatened not to cooperate with the new assembly in accessing the various sources of revenue, majority of which comes from the Lower Denkyira area, if their concerns were not addressed immediately.

Nana Ama Ayensu-Sarah, Queenmother of the Denkyira state, said this at a press conference held at the omanhene’s place in Jukwa.

She said at the appropriate time, the Denkyirahene, Odeefuo Boa Amponsem III and the Denkyira traditional council would act to defend the Denkyira state.

The press Conference, which was attended by the Denkyirahene Odeefuo Boa Amponsem II and a number of chiefs and Queenmothers, as well as a cross section of the public who were dressed in black and red clothes to signify their disappointment of choosing Hemang Lower Denkyira as the new district capital instead of Jukwa.

Nana Ayensu-Sarah expressed their disappointment and frustration about government’s failure to name Jukwa as the district capital, since the area has the appropriate facilities which include a market, the Kakum national park, community library, ICT Centre, Health Centre, Hotels, Financial institutions among others.

She said it was unfortunate that the government has made deliberate attempts to make it difficult for Jukwa to be named the district capital, since two out of its three area councils namely Jukwa and Wawase both in lower Denkyira, were deliberately omitted from L.I 2022 and L.I 2122 laid before parliament.

Nana Ayensu-Sarah said for instance in L.I 2022 the first instrument purportedly establishing the new district which were laid before parliament, almost all of the electoral areas falling under Lower Denkyira were omitted .

According to her, the said L.I was revoked but parts of it were maintained and others substituted by L.I 2122 of which nothing was mentioned about the two area councils in the lower Denkyira, creating the impression that there was only the Hemang area council under which all the listed electoral area or units fall, “this certainly cannot be an unintentional mistake, it is intentional” she added.

Nana Ayensu-Sarah pointed out that, although the name of the new district as previously announced was originally Hemang Lower Denkyira, the documents pertaining to the district including the Legal Instruments now read “Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira” and that the inclusion of the name “Twifo” to the name of the newly created assembly to read “Twifo Hemang Lower Denkyira district assembly “ instead of” Hemang Lower Denkyira district assembly” is brewing a lot of tension in the area.

Nana Ayensu-Sarah said “we feel the government had taken an entrenched stance to slight Lower Denkyira in this matter at all cost regardless of the people’s feelings, sensibilities as well as the rule of law and the factors on the ground; we see this as a deliberate attempt to deprive the people of Lower Denkyira of what is rightly due us and thereby create confusion between the two states, that is lower and upper Denkyira that co-existed peacefully over the years.

It would be recalled that last year, the government announced the creation of new districts including Hemang Lower Denkyira thereby elevating the Hemang Lower Denkyira constituency into a district and chose Hemang as the Capital of the new district, instead of Jukwa, which is the constituency capital.**