Ho, June 21, GNA -Togbega Gabusu VI, President of the Volta Region House of Chiefs, has appealed to the House to discuss and consider the merits of the current debate for splitting the region into two. He said such a move required the support of chiefs in the region because of the rapid development this would bring about. Togbega Gabusu said this when he addressed a general meeting of the House during which 17 new rotation members were admitted and sworn into the 32-member House.

He said evidences abounded in the country to show that such decisions had brought about rapid development where they were undertaken. Togbega Gabusu said the region, stretching from the coast at Keta to Krachi in the north, was too long and unwieldy for effective administration and equitable development.

He said the positive outcome from splitting the region into three dioceses from the previous single diocese by the Catholic Church was a case in point.

Togbega Gabusu said the two regions combined would continue to maintain the uniqueness of the current Volta Region. He also called for the establishment of a Common Fund for chiefs out of which they could draw funds to carry out development projects. "We are not asking that money should be given to us", he said, but that with such a Common Fund, chiefs could propose projects to the assemblies to be funded from that fund.

Togbega Gabusu said chiefs were better placed than MPs to identify the developmental needs of their communities.

He said current major initiatives by some chiefs towards helping to find solutions to some of the country's problems were ample proofs that given the resources and support chiefs could facilitate the rapid transformation of the face of development in the country. Addressing the meeting,Mr Joseph Nayan, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, acknowledged the important role of chiefs in national development. He appealed to them to bring their positive influences to bear on the consolidation of peace.