Comment: New Regions my foot

This talk of creating new regions for better and accelerated development seems to confuse me. So, in the midst of the confusion, I sought answers.

I wanted to know for example, the total areas of the states that make up the United States of America.I was shocked to discover that some of these states are intimidatingly massive. Some are bigger than the whole of Ghana.

How then have they developed and continued to develop? Or, is it because America is a federal state? Yes, someone will say;’these are semi-autonomous states with governors leading them (the states). Fine. In the meantime, I remember that Nigeria is also a federal state. Someone will argue that it is not fair to compare a super power to a so called third world country.

What I’m seeking to prove with the above comparison is that, development has got nothing to do with federalism or Unitarism.

Canada and South Africa are said to have huge provinces. How come they are developed? Undoubtedly, development or the pace of development cannot be linked to sheer size of a territory. Otherwise, why is the Upper East Region still underdeveloped? Is it not one of the smallest regions in Ghana?

What unsettles me the more is that pertaining to the Volta Region alone, there are agitations to carve out two more regions out of the mother region. One at the south to be called Kodzie and one at the north called Oti. Reading some comments made by some chiefs in support of the creation of the Oti region makes me shudder. One chief reduces the whole issue to a tribal minefield, further fueling the already existing ethnic tensions we all have been trying to resolve.

I see that the creation of new regions will require the opening of new agencies and departments. Are we really poised to take the bull by the horn? I don’t think so. I am pessimistic because I have observed closely how the new districts created by successive governments have and continue to struggle in their quest to survive. New regions will demand new political appointees such as ministers and deputy ministers with their fat salaries and allowances. The cost of starting and running a region should not over weigh the territory’s economic importance.

Further more, the Volta region has been touted Ghana’s UN. UN because of the several tribal mixes in the region. The Akan, the Guan, the Ewe and so on all exist in their numbers in the Volta region. Isn’t that beautiful? Is this not good for our unity as a region in particular and as a nation in general?

At this juncture, I wish to state emphatically that rapid development does not just occur. There must be first of all, good policies that must be implemented devoid of political coloration. Corruption must be immobilized, paralysed and disintegrated without fear or favour. Supervision of agencies and departments must be tightened. There must be a will; the will to develop on the part of both our leaders and we the citizens. There must be serious political will, not lip service.

On a more spiritual note, I dare say that the number 10 represents completeness or wholeness. For this reason, Ghana should remain a ten region country. Volta, and indeed no other region for that matter needs segregation at this point in our history. If this colonialist idea could solve our problems, nations like Ghana and Togo etc.would have developed by now. Why? They drew lines on our maps to demarcate our borders. Have we developed? Your guess is as good as mine.

Writer: King Zeto