Bassa Chiefs petition Local Government Minister on new district capital

The chiefs and people of Bassa Traditional Area in the Sene District in the Brong Ahafo Region, on Thursday expressed dissatisfaction at government’s intention to locate the capital of the proposed Sene East District at Kajaji instead of Bassa.

The chiefs in a petition to the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, copied to GNA in Accra on Friday, said the decision was “disappointing and unfortunate”, especially when the people of Bassam were not consulted in arriving at that decision.

The petition, which was jointly signed by Nana Owusu Sakyi III, the Omanhene; Nana Osei Atuahene II, Krontihene, Nana Agyeiwaa Mpamakyi II, Queenmother, and Nana Osei Owusu, Gyaasehene, all of the Bassa area, appealed to government to reconsider the decision and, instead, site the district capital at Bassa because it was better disposed in terms of human resource, natural resources, economic potentials and peace than Kajaji.

It said that a high-powered delegation of chiefs and opinion leaders from Bassa, led by Nana Sakyi, presented the petition to the Minister in Accra, and underlined the seriousness they attached to the issue.

The petition said: “We dedicate our resolve for peace, security and development as we await for your fair and impartial response to this petition”.

It said in an interaction with the media after the presentation, Nana Sakyi indicated that the people of Bassa were highly agitated over the matter and that their displeasure could be manifested in a manner that might undermine the peace in the area.

The Omanhene said that Kajaji could not be suitable for a district capital because it was currently not a peaceful community as a chieftaincy dispute had prompted a permanent security presence.

Nana Sakyi said Bassa also “has enormous natural resources and economic potentials that could be tapped for the rapid socio-economic development of the area”, and cited the discovery of oil, which was being handled currently by a Canadian firm, and large hectares of commercial plantations.

He said Bassa was the major food basket of the area the main supplier of produce to the market at Kajaji, thus making the former a significant source of revenue generation.

Nana Sakyi said: “With four main towns, 66 villages and a population of 26,231 as per the 2,000 Population and Housing Census and projection for 2011, constituting about 90 per cent of the entire population of the area, the chiefs strongly believe Bassa is better disposed than Kajaji as a district capital.

“The chiefs had demonstrated their commitment to development by self-financing a number of development projects, including the building of a palace, laboratory for the local health centre, a police station, a 14-room accommodation for the police and a transit quarters for visitors at Bassa”.

The Omanhene said he had been footing the rent of police personnel at Bassa for the past 15 years.

Source: GNA