They observed that the Konkomba communities within the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District had been deprived of  infrastructure and therefore the siting of the capital of the proposed district would help bring development to the Konkomba communities in the area.

According to them Bunkpurugu, which is the district capital, was also far away from the Konkomba communities in the district, they had to travel long distances from their communities to access essential services such as health care education and the renewal of their National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) cards on expiry.

Again, they stated that “after more than a decade of sporadic hostilities with no end in sight in the Bimoaba-controlled Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District, Konkombas living in the area have decided to break away and not participate in any decision making should the President site the district capital in a different community.

Reasons

The President of the Konkomba Youth Association, Mr Charles Nyorja, made the appeal on behalf of the Konkomba communities at a press conference held at Temaa, a suburb of Nakpanduri in the Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District last Saturday.

The conference, which brought together over 61 Konkomba chiefs, was to educate the chiefs and stakeholders on the need to stand united and fight for a common agenda, as well as deliberate on which community should host the new district capital to avert any trouble in the near future.

Mr Nyorja said the Konkombas dominated the Bimoabas with about 44 polling stations out of 56, indicating the need for the government to site the proposed district on Konkomba land.

“We have about 80 per cent of the populace in the constituency being Konkombas and for that matter Konkombas have about  44 polling stations, Bimoabas have five and Mamprusis four,  while there are three polling stations mixed with Bimoabas and Konkombas, which added up to  55 polling stations…And we think that apart from Saboba we don’t have a district, so we are crying for government to hear our voice that it is time we also benefitted. Let the district capital be sited in a Konkomba community,” he stated.

According to him, Konkombas have for the past years suffered deprivation and hardship due to a ceaseless kingship conflict involving neighbouring tribes, and that no Konkomba clan had enjoyed any government’s policy.

“We don’t have any Konkomba community (name) attached to the district or constituency and so if government attempts to site the district at Yunyoo as we are hearing we will resist it.”

The President of the Konkomba Students, Mr Emmanuel Laari, stressed the need for the government to help salvage the hardship of Konkombas in the country, saying they also contribute to national development hence the need for them to enjoy the national cake.