Demo Hits Veep

Vice President John Dramani Mahama has incurred the displeasure of the chiefs and people of Bamboi in the Northern Region following his inability to keep his promise of creating a separate district for them this year. At a charged meeting of the chiefs and people of the town, they poured venom on the vice president for jilting them. According to Enoch Coffie, a youth leader who spoke on behalf of the Paramount Chief of Bamboi, Nana Dapaah II, from 1996 when John Mahama stood as a parliamentary candidate for the NDC, he promised the people of Bamboi that at the right time, the Bole District would be divided into two districts, with Bamboi as the district capital of the new district. He recalled that last year, when the chiefs and people of Bamboi were celebrating their Pedia Yam Festival, the vice president, who was invited as the guest of honour, reiterated his earlier promise to the people that even if only one district was to be created this year, the people of Bamboi should be rest assured that they would not be rejected. Mr. Coffie was therefore surprised that when the newly-created 42 districts were announced, the name of Bamboi was conspicuously missing. Mr. Coffie said on all three occasions that Mr. Mahama stood as a parliamentary candidate for Bole/Bamboi constituency, his own people from Bole voted against him but the people of Bamboi voted massively for him. According to Mr. Coffie, in the 2004 elections, nine out of the thirteen polling stations in Bole voted against John Mahama whilst thirteen out of the fifteen polling stations at Bamboi voted massively for him. He noted that but for the votes he got from the Bamboi, he would not have been the MP for Bole/Bamboi constituency that year. Mr. Coffie told Daily Guide that Mr. Mahama recognized the contribution of the people of Bamboi in all his parliamentary bids and told them at a rally that even though his own people betrayed him, the people of Bamboi had been voting for him and so now that he was the vice president of Ghana, he would not forget them. Speaking to Daily Guide from his base in the US, the Paramount Chief of Bamboi Traditional Area, Nana Dapaah II, expressed shock at the way the people of Bamboi were being treated by the current government. He said he was very disappointed because on several occasions that he had the opportunity to interact with the vice president, he (the vice president) promised that he would make sure Bamboi was carved from Bole District to become a district. Nana Dapaah said all government appointees at the Bole District assembly today were Gonjas, adding that no Mo occupied any position there. He mentioned the District Chief Executive, NYEP Co-ordinator, Non Formal Education Co-ordinator, NADMO Co-ordinator, NHIS Manager among others as positions being held by Gonjas alone. From all indications, Nana Dapaah, said the vice president was promoting tribalism, adding that this would not augur well for peaceful co-existence. In a related development, the people of Bamboi have already constructed an office complex to house the new district assembly they were looking forward to. They have also constructed houses to accommodate workers who would be posted to the new district.