The chiefs and people of Jukwa in the Twifo-Hemang-Lower-Denkyira (THLD) District of the Central Region have vowed to have nothing to do with the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government should they go ahead to site the newly created district capital at Hemang.
They have also promised not to cooperate with the new assembly in accessing the various sources of revenue, of which majority comes from the area, if government does not rescind its decision to site the capital at Hemang.
According to them, Jukwa had all the basic amenities and infrastructure for the immediate take off of the assembly, hence the need for government to stop taking steps without consulting the appropriate authorities.
At a press conference organised at Jukwa on Tuesday, the Denkyirahemaa, Nana Ama Ayensua Saara III, stated that government had decided to slight Lower Denkyira in this matter, regardless of the people�s feelings, as well as the rule of law and factors on the ground.
�We see this as a deliberate attempt to deprive the people of Lower Denkyira of what is rightly due us,� she said.
She emphatically stated that Denkyira and Twifo Hemang had had peaceful relations since time immemorial and would not sit down and allow the elevation of the constituency to destroy their relationship.
The Denkyirahemaa expressed concern about how the legislative instrument which established the new district, was laid before Parliament, omitting all the electoral areas under Lower Denkyira.
�The LI never mentioned the two area councils in the Lower Denkyira area, namely Jukwa and Wawase, but the LI mentioned Hemang, creating the impression that there was only the Hemang Area Council which all the listed electoral areas or units fall and this can never be an unintentional mistake,� she added.
Nana Ayensua Saara noted that even though their earlier petition was copied to Parliament and appropriate Parliamentary Sub Committees, they would not be surprised if the report of the Joint Committee on Subsidiary Legislation and Local Government and Rural Development did not capture these anomalies and concerns.
She disclosed that the Traditional Council would take the necessary steps to defend the Denkyira state even if they had to drag the government to court.
The press conference was attended by the Paramount Chief of the Denkyira Traditional Area, Odeefuo Boa Amponsem III, as well as all the chiefs and queen-mothers under the traditional council.
They were all dressed in red and black cloth.
Odeefuo Boa Amponsem, who looked very disappointed because the district capital would be sited at Hemang, started weeping immediately his queen-mother started addressing the press on his behalf.
From: Sarah Owusu-Darlington, Jukwa
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