The Manhyia Palace has exposed the lies told by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) over the number of its representative (s) at the Assembly as reported by EIB’s Ashanti Regional correspondence, Isaac Bediako Justice and published by Starrfm.com.gh.
At the inauguration and swearing-in of the 8th Kumasi Assembly, Thursday, January 23, 2020, the Bantamahene, Nana Baffour Owusu Amankwatia VI, who represented the Otumfuo, expressed worry about the low representation of Nananom at the Assembly.
He said Nananom used to have five (5) representation at the KMA, however, the number has been reduced to one (1) by the central government, a situation Manhyia believes, has made the Traditional Council no more relevant in the local governance system.
Having drew the government’s attention to it but with no response to correct the anomaly, Manhyia, according to the Bantamahene, had no option than to withdraw its representative from the KMA and other Assemblies in the Ashanti Region in protest over the government’s posture.
This was vividly captured in Bediako Justice’s report which has since been debunked by the Assembly describing it as misleading and urging the public to ignore that publication.
In the view of the KMA, Manhyia’s representatives at the Assembly are two (2) and not one (1) as captured by Bediako Justice in his report, and indirectly, refuting the claims made by Nananom.
But Manhyia has vehemently exposed the lies of the KMA.
In a letter from Manhyia dated January 13, 2020, addressed to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, and signed by the Chief of Staff of Manhyia, Nana Kofi Badu, Nananom expressed worry about their representation at KMA and other Assemblies in the Ashanti Region.
“You will recall that we were asked to re-assign the representatives of the Kumasi Traditional Council on the former Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to the newly created Municipal Assemblies, we made it clear that we did not consider it sane to have only one chief serving on an Assembly. However, because of the circumstances in which the Assemblies came into being, Nananom were persuaded to compromise and allow the re-assignment of the serving members to enable the new Assemblies meet their legal requirements to commence operation, in the expectation that the situation would be normalized later”, the letter a copy of which is in possession of this web portal in part stated.
It added “Our letter of March 26, 2018, made it clear that we were doing that without prejudice to the demand for an increase and that in due time, the situation would be normalized to provide Nananom with their rightful level of representation. It has been more than a considerable disappointment therefore for Nananom to be told that after the Assemblies have gone through the full electoral process and been reconstituted, they are still only allowed not more than one representative on each Assembly. Nananom fell offended that their role is being devalued”.
Below is letter Manhyia wrote the Ashanti Regional Minister:
