Savannah Region created, Damongo is capital

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President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Tuesday presented the Savanah Region with its Document of Attestation and Constitutional Instrument (CI 115), officially giving effect to the creation of the Region.

The President named Damongo in the West Gonja district as the capital of the new region, which brings to 12 the number of regions in Ghana. The North East Region, the 11th was officially inaugurated earlier.

The current Northern Regional Minister, Salifu Saeed is to administer the region until a substantive Minister is appointed.

The new region, carved out of the Northern region, voted 99.5 percent ‘Yes’ for its creation during last December’s referendum to reorganize the region.

At a colourful event at the forecourt of the Jubilee House in Accra, President Akufo-Addo said the creation of the Region was a response to the many calls and request by the people of the area to successive administrations.

“Today’s ceremony, the presentation of the constitutional instrument for the creation of the savannah region and the signing of the instrument of attestation, are the result of twenty three 23 years of agitation, pleas and petitions made by successive Yabgonwuras, Members of Parliament, the Gonjaland Youth Association, amongst others, to successive governments for the creation of this region, to no avail”.

He said although the Savannah region was replete with natural resources, it was the least developed in the Northern region, saying it was important to ensure that the area assumed its proper place amongst the other regions of the country in terms of development.

“The onus is now on government to put in motion the processes for the rapid development of the Savannah Region.”

The President assured the people of his government’s commitment to ensuring that the region was well resourced for an effective takeoff.

The Finance Minister in the 2019 budget, made an allocation of GHC20 million for each of the six new regions that were created after last December’s referendum.

Yagbonwura Tutumba Botisa I, in a speech, read for him, expressed on behalf of the Gonja Kingdom and its people, gratitude to the President “for your bold, visionary and distinguished leadership” that had led to the creation of the Region.

“The region will outlive you and I, but be assured the Savanah Region will forever be grateful to you,” he told the President and pledged that he and his people would support all of government’s efforts to bring development and prosperity to the new region.

By: GNA