The Paramount Chief of Ullo Traditional Area in the Upper West Region, Naa Alhaji Seidu Amadu Baboorononne II has appealed to flagbearer of the opposition National Democratic Congress, John Dramani Mahama, to create a district for them should he win the 2020 polls.
The Paramount Chief made the plea during a courtesy call on him by John Dramani Mahama.
Parliament in 2017 passed a bill to allow the creation of new districts, which the Local Government Ministry said at the time, will help bring development closer to the people.
Thirty-eight (38) new districts were created and inaugurated on March 15, 2018.
According to the Spokesperson for Paramount Chief, Hassan Amadu Babooro-nonne, a request put before the President to include their area as part of the new districts did not see the light of day.
“We are urging for the Eastern part of Jirapa to get our share of the national cake. In 2018, I put a request to the President of the Republic of Ghana to carve out Jirapa East district or constituency.”
The Paramount Chief lamented that successive governments have neglected them for long.
The Ullo Traditional Area consists of 38 settlements with about 15,000 people on 50,000 hectares of land.
The people are mostly subsistence farmers. For those who decide to go into large scale farming, storage becomes a challenge. The roads are impassable in the rainy season.
There are no hospitals or banks in the Ullo area. The closest is in the district capital, Jirapa, a 45-minute drive away when roads are passable.
Access to mobile banking is limited due to poor cell coverage and the inability of many to afford phones.
Spokesperson for the Paramount Chief said a new administrative district will go a long way in turning their fortunes around.
“If a new district is created for us, all or most of our challenges will automatically be solved. We the people of Ullo Traditional Area see this as a major hurdle to our development and wish it is a dream come true.”