Govt addresses petitions on creation of districts - Ampofo

The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, has said the government has addressed many of the petitions associated with the proposed creation of new districts announced by the government recently.

He, however, declined to give further details until the legislative instrument (LI) for the creation of the new districts has been passed.

This was when the Daily Graphic sought his comments on the issue Tuesday.

Following the announcement of the creation of 42 new metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies in October 2011, some traditional authorities, communities and interested groups protested against the siting of some of the district capitals.

Some of them embarked on demonstrations to register their displeasure while others petitioned the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, asking the government to reconsider its decision to site the capital in towns they considered to be undeserving of that status.

According to Mr Ofosu-Ampofo, many of the concerns had been addressed, adding that his ministry was now finalising the draft LI for the creation of the new districts.

He expressed the hope that the LI would be laid before Parliament as soon as the House re-convened this month.

The LI had earlier been laid before Parliament at its last session but it was subsequently withdrawn following some concerns raised by some Members of Parliament (MPs).

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo expressed the hope that this time around, the LI would meet the expectations of the MPs and be passed with despatch.

The Electoral Commission (EC) has indicated that it can only create new constituencies for the conduct of the 2012 elections if the new districts are created early enough.