Akropong against Barekese as district capital

The chiefs and people of Akropong in the Atwima Nwabiagya district of the Ashanti Region has embarked on a demonstration against naming of Barekese as the capital of the yet-to-created Atwima Nwabiagya North district, which would be carved out of the Atwima Nwabiagya district.

The demonstration was dubbed: “Let the old NLM Town (Akropong) be the capital of Atwima Nwabiagya North District”. The demonstrators wore red and black clothing and carried placards, some of which read: “Y33gye Y3 Districts”, “No Akropong No capital”, “Akropong deserves better” and “B)ne b3n na Akropong ay3”.

According to them, attempts by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government to use Barekese as the district capital is unfortunate since Akropong, which falls under the new district is better-resourced to be the administrative headquarters.

“The town of Atwima Akropong has the requisite facilities better than Barekese,” the Akwamuhene of Akropong, Nana Ataani Amankwa-Apam told the media on Thursday, 9 November, adding that: “It has the infrastructural facilities to be developed to fit a district capital.”

He cited the district magistrates court – the only court in the new district, police station with its quarters, good road network connected to the other towns in the new district; industries like Ntensere quarry, poultry farms, Owabi water works; good laid-out streets with lights, good water supplies, good sewage system, a well-patronised market, senior high school and junior high school among others, as some of the facilities in Akropong.

He said Akropong generates more revenue than Barekese indicating that revenue collected in 2016 was GHS3,958 as compared to Barekese’s GHS3,444.

For him, Akropong “is centrally-placed and it would be a hub for effective administration compared to Barekese which is 3 kilometres from Offinso”.

He emphasised that Akropong has “more than two-thirds of the chiefs and people from the other Atwima Nwabiagya towns, who support Atwima Akropong to be the district capital”.

Nana Ataani said Akropong was the district capital of Atwima Nwabiagya after Kumasi West was divided into Atwima Nwabiagya district with its capital at Akropong-Ashanti; and Ahafo Ano-South with its capital at Tepa-Ashanti.

He said the capital of Atwima Nwabiagya was moved to Nkawie through the machinations of Martin Appiah Dankwah, the then-General Secretary of the Farmers Council and a member of the presidential commission during Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s regime.

According to him, Akropong-Ashanti was perceived to be against Dr Kwame Nkrumah’s Convention People’s Party (CPP) and that was why the district capital was moved to Nkawie.

He believes that the move to make Barekese the district capital was through the machinations of some officials from the previous government, and therefore, pleaded with the present government not to endorse that directive.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com