Press Release By The Chiefs And People Of The Newly Created Kaleo District

The newly created Kaleo district is coterminous with Kaleo traditional Area and prior to the creation of the Nadowli district in 1987, both the Kaleo traditional area and Nadowli applied for separate districts; eventually a district was created for both. The creation of the district ignited another level of struggle as to where to site the district capital. Again, Nadowli and Kaleo contested for the district capital. Finally a compromise deal was reached where the capital was cited in Nadowli and Kaleo asked to provide the district secretary to facilitate the integration of the district.

Since then, the Kaleo traditional area has been petitioning for a separate district status. The traditional area Kaleo is also aware that other traditional areas have done same. The Kaleo traditional area has no problem with such requests. What the people of the newly created district believe is that due diligence by the appropriate government agencies would have accounted for granting their request.

We the Chiefs and people of the Kaleo traditional area believe that the newly created district has the human and infrastructural resources to stand on its own in the area of health, agriculture, education and road network. Furthermore, the people are a homogeneous and contiguously netted group. We believe that all these factors can facilitate a quicker pace of development of the area.

The newly created district is made up seventy-one (71) communities stretching from the Black Volta in the West to Kpagdina in the East, then Loho in the South and Serekpere in the North. From the 2000 Population Census, out of the 20 most populous communities in the Upper West Regions, three of them are within the newly created Kaleo District namley; Kaleo 3037, Naro 2404 and Takpo 2388.

Furthermore, of the twenty most populous communities in the current Nadowli district, eleven (11) of these are within the newly created Kaleo district with population as follows: Kaleo3037, Naro 2404, Takpo 2388, Duong 2104, Sankana 2079, Sombo, 1902, Nator, 1787, Jang 1574, Goli 1568, Nanvelli 1153 and Serekpere 114.

If the Kaleo traditional area met the technical criteria to merit the creation of a new district, we would ever remain thankful to the Atta Mills Government for granting the request of the chiefs and people of the traditional area. However, if other requests for district status were not approved, we do appreciate the anxiety of the people of those areas concerned but it is incumbent upon them to make a good case for their demand to be satisfied. If two brothers make requests from their old father and one request is granted by the wisdom of the father, the only option for the aggrieved brother is to make a good case for his own and not to compel the old father to confiscate for him the one granted to the other brother.

Naa Wigbert Dogoli Bagah II

Acting President of the Kaleo Traditional council

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