KUMAWU AFRAM PLAINS DISTRICT READY FOR INAUGURATION (PAGE 20)

Story: Kwame Asare Boadu, Kumawu

FEVERISH preparations are underway at Kumawu in the Ashanti Region for the inauguration of the newly created Kumawu Afram Plains District.
Some citizens have promised to release their buildings to house some of the workers of the decentralised departments who would be working in the district capital while others are also donating cash to assist the assembly to meet some of its commitments in the initial stages of operation.
Former Asante Kotoko Football Club’s Chief Executive, Mr Herbert Mensah, has donated GH¢4,000 towards the development of the assembly.
He was among a number of citizens who made various donations when the Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Mr Kwadwo Adjei-Darko, visited the town to meet the chiefs and people of the new district.
The meeting was to discuss the upcoming inauguration of the district and how the district administration could commence operating without much difficulty.
Another citizen of the town based in Kumasi also released his four-storey building to be used as interim offices for the district assembly.
Indeed, the entire community is looking foward to February 21 this year, when President Kufuor is likely to perform the inaugural ceremony.
The new district, with Kumawu as its capital, was created from the Sekyere East District, whose capital is Effiduase.
Interestingly, while there is trouble in some of the newly created districts over the siting of district capitals, the situation in Kumawu Afram Plains is directly the opposite. There is absolute peace and unity as all have hailed the selection of Kumawu as the capital.
Kumawu is one of the old and historically important towns in the Ashanti Region.
According to history, one of the former chiefs of the area, Tweneboa Kodua, offered his life to propitiate the gods of Ashanti to enable them to achieve victory over the Denkyiras in one of the Ashanti wars.
The Kumawu Traditional Area spreads to the Afram Plains. In fact, Kumawu is one of if, not the biggest traditional area in the Ashanti Region in terms of land mass.
For a very long time, the people had been agitating for the creation of a separate district for the area but to no avail.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Mr Yaw Baah, who was instrumental in the creation of the new district, traced the history of Kumawu’s call for a separate capital and said President Kufuor must be congratulated for being a listening leader.
The agitation for a separate district was based on various reasons including the vastness of the Sekyere East District, which made administration difficult for the political authorities.
In the Kumawu town itself, people are very happy that their dream of getting a district capital one day has eventually materialised, and are full of praise for President Kufuor.
Mr Adjei-Darko stated that the new districts created by the government had been included in this year’s allocation of the Common Fund.
He assured the people of Kumawu Afram Plains that their attitude would go a long way to propel the assembly to begin operations effectively.
The minister, however, stressed the need for the people of the area to do more to complement the government’s efforts in ensuring the speedy growth of the new district.
The District Chief Executive (DCE) for Sekyere East, Mr Philip Basoah, himself a native of Kumawu, and who is highly tipped to become the first DCE for the new district, was full of praise for the donor of the building.