The Member of Parliament for Karaga Dr Mohammed Amin Adam Anta, has revealed that his outfit is consulting with relevant authorities towards upgrading the Kagara District into a Municipality to enhance development in the area.
According to him the area would witness a proper facelift from the central government when upgraded to a Municipality. “Municipalities get a lot of opportunities and benefits therefore we must push for it”, he stated
Amin Anta, also a Deputy Energy Minster announced this plan when he cut sod for the construction of a police station at Pishigu.
The Pishigu Police station is the second the MP is constructing in the Constituency.
The Karaga district is one of the sixteen districts in Northern Region. Originally, it was part of the then-larger Gushegu –Karaga District in 1988, which was created from the former East Dagomba District Council, until the western part of the district was split to create the Karaga District in August 2004.
Section 4(2) of local government Act 936 (2016) states that when a district achieves a population of 95,000 it is automatically upgraded to a Municipality.
However, the Karaga District has about 200 communities with a population of about 100,000, according to the Ghana Statistical Service.
The MP therefore lamented that it was unfair for Karaga to still remain at District with its current population and with that level of infrastructural development including the yet to open Pishigu SHS, and the construction of additional three police stations in the area.
He said the area has attained all requirements per the Local government Act 2016 to be upgraded to Municipality, adding “Gushegu is a Municipality with only one SHS and one Police station, while Savulegu is a Municipality with only one Police station, but Karaga which is still a District has two SHS with three additional police stations, this is not fair”.
“And so, all the developmental projects I have been initiating and executing would lead the district to attained Municipality status in the feature, Karaga must be upgraded to a Municipality” he stressed
The Deputy Energy Minister also indicated that he has since laid a proposal before the President for consideration and “so very soon I will engage various traditional authorities and other stakeholders within the District for them to sign a petition to the Presidents”.
Karaga District’s western neighbors are the Savelugu Municipality and the Nanton District. To the North are the West Mamprusi and the East Mamprusi Municipalities. To the South and East is the Gushegu Municipality from which Karaga District was carved.
Story by: Yakubu Alhassan |www.diamondfmonline.com
