The Minister designate for Regional Reorganisation and Development, Mr Daniel Kwaku Botwe, says the government’s decision to create four additional regions is not for political expediency but rather to accelerate development in every part of the country.
“The motive is in the national interest and not for political consideration,” he explained.
He said chiefs and other opinion leaders would have more roles to play in the creation of new regions in the quest for fairness.
Responding to questions during his vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament (ACP) yesterday, Mr Botwe said the need for effective and accelerated development informed the decision, with the Regional House of Chiefs playing an effective role in the process.
While the New Patriotic Party (NPP) promised to create four more regions during the 2016 campaign, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) also promised to create five more regions had it won the elections.
Mr Botwe said if given the nod, he would work together with the NDC, since the two parties agreed on the creation of new regions to promote development
No political interest
He downplayed suggestions that being a former general secretary of the NPP, he would attempt to encourage gerrymandering in the creation of the regions to give his party a political advantage.
Rather, he explained that history had shown that gerrymandering had never given one political party an advantage and cited the creation of new constituencies under the NPP and the NDC.
Mr Botwe told the committee that the President’s motive to create those regions was more in the national interest than a partisan one and asked Ghanaians to support the process.
On the economic benefits of the new regions, the minister designate said the creation of the regions would accelerate development in Ghana in the long run.
On the issue of a possible boundary dispute in the creation of the regions, the ministerial nominee said: “We don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” as he explained that people with expertise would be brought on board to proffer advice on the process.
Asked what would become of him after the regions had been created, Mr Botwe posited that his mandate would not necessarily end with the creation of the region but he would still oversee affairs of those regions in terms of providing them with the needed resources to stand on their feet.
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