Governance expert\u00a0Dr Eric Oduro Osae wants a legal framework created to guide in the selection of regional capitals.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Governance expert\u00a0Dr Eric Oduro Osae wants a legal framework created to guide in the selection of regional capitals.<\/span><\/p>\n He said something needs to be done about the situation where the law allows\u00a0the president to create new regions but fails to evidently stipulate where the capitals should be located.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy worry is the constitutional gap where we don\u2019t have any legal framework that will guide us by bringing out the various criteria or indicators that should be taken into consideration in determining a regional capital.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt the moment it is loose, you leave it to the president to determine where it should go whereas when it comes to the creation of the region proper, the law is clear on what we need to do,\u201d he said on Joy News\u2019 Newsfile.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dr Osae was reacting to the violence that erupted in Salaga after the president announced Damongo<\/b> as the capital of the newly created Savannah Region.<\/span><\/p>\n A resident\u00a0took this <\/b><\/span>photograph<\/span><\/b>\u00a0of the burning office and shared them with Joy News<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n The youth in Salaga in protest over not being selected set the constituency office of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) ablaze, demanding that the President Akufo-Addo <\/span>do<\/span><\/span><\/span>\u00a0right by them.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n They argue that the people of Salaga South showed faith in the NPP by voting its parliamentary candidate, Salifu Adam Braimah as MP.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n They say the choice of Damongo which voted for an NDC candidate Adam\u00a0<\/span>Mutawakilu,\u00a0does not reward the peoples\u2019 faith in the NPP.<\/span><\/p>\n The roofing, fridges, windows, satellite dish and computers are among the many things destroyed by the fire.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The 1992 Constitution provides the legal framework that serves as the basis for regional reorganization and the creation of additional ones. Article 5 (1) states that the President may, by Constitutional Instrument:<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Create a new region<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 Alter the boundaries of a region, or<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2022 Provide for the merger of two or more regions.<\/span><\/p>\n Clause 2 of the same article says that\u00a0\u201cif the President, upon a petition being presented to him and, on the advice of the Council of State, is satisfied that there is a substantial demand for:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 The creation of a new region;<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 The alteration of the boundaries of a region, whether or not the alteration involves the creation of a new region; or<\/span><\/p>\n \u2022 The merger of any two or more regions<\/span><\/p>\n President Akufo-Addo signed the Constitutional\u00a0Instrument (CI116) to give effect to the creation of the\u00a0Savannah region<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Dr Osae believes that had there been a constitutional principle guiding how the selection should be done, the violence would not have been witnessed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cGoing forward let us come out with a framework that will guide us\u00a0that if you want to site a regional capital out of a new region, these are the factors that you should take into consideration.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf we have clear cut indicators documented and we do the mapping and tell the people that these are the indicators; \u2018Salaga, Dambai, Kete Krachie and Jasikan, it was Dambai that met the indicators so we have given it to them\u2019… it is fair and objective nobody will complain,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr Osae who is also a lawyer said although the president deserves discretionary powers, it should be guided in a manner that makes everyone happy.<\/span><\/p>\n Executive Director of the Ark Foundation, Angela Dwamena-Aboagye sides with her colleague lawyer.<\/span><\/p>\n She believes that although not everything can be legislated, it is alright and perhaps even easier to go about certain projects if there is a guide on how it should be done.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt makes it easier for people to understand why you arrived at this decision. So it is a good thing,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n Dr Dwamena-Aboagye is, however, unhappy with Ghana\u2019s development language which she sees as being too heavily focused on physical infrastructure development.<\/span><\/p>\n That for her is part of the reasons why people tend to fight to get \u201cthis bit of space in our space because immediately we will see a building come up that is supposed to be the administrative building, we will see more offices and office s being done and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf we understood that development is beyond physical infrastructure, it will really help in some of these agitations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.ghanamma.com\/2019\/02\/5106076608929_1332253144019.jpg\"\/)
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