Ghana split four administrative regions between June 2017 and February 2019 to create six new ones. The process proceeded calmly in some regions, but was so contentious in others that the government had to deploy security forces to prevent clashes. Eventually, all six regions were created.
The conflicts were unexpected. Unlike in other African countries, such as Ethiopia or Nigeria where regions have some autonomy, regions in Ghana have no political autonomy. So the creation of new regions would not have resulted in a loss or gain in local political autonomy for the affected regions. What triggered the conflict then?
To explore this, I conducted research, comparing the new regions based on a number of factors. These included voting preferences, demographic profiles and whose voices dominated during the separation process. To provide historical context to the research, I drew on Ghana’s history by examining the 1959 split of the Ashanti region to create Brong Ahafo. That was the first creation of a new region after Ghana’s independence in 1957.
