Chiefs, people of Mepe end Afenorto festival
The chiefs and people of Mepe Traditional Area in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region last Saturday climaxed this year’s Afenorto Festival with a grand durbar at Mepe, with a challenge to the citizens to unite towards accelerated development.
The festival, celebrated annually, was meant to bring the citizens together to renew their sense of oneness and to raise funds to complement government’s efforts in their development agenda.
This year’s celebration was on the theme; “Together in peace and development”, and brought together citizens both home and abroad.
Addressing the gathering, the Manklalo of Mepe Traditional Area, Togbe Korsi Nego VI, noted that the surest way of curbing unemployment in our communities was to bring vocational and technical education to the doorsteps of the people.
In recognition of this, the chiefs and people of Mepe, through their own initiative, were constructing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) School at Dadome, a suburb of Mepe.
According to him, the school, when completed and equipped with the necessary equipment, would help the youth with employable skills, and thereby reduce the pressure on the government with regards to employment.
Togbe Korsi Nego appealed to government to help them complete the project which was currently at the roofing stage.
He called on all to use the celebration to promote peace, togetherness, unity and development, and also pledged to support efforts aimed at ensuring harmony, peace and tolerance in the traditional area.
Togbe Korsi Nego assured the people that peace and development was his utmost concern, and would work in collaboration with citizens and other stakeholders to come out with well-tailored development agenda to speed up development in the area.
The District Chief Executive for North Tongu, Osborn Devine, called on the people to join forces with the government and the Assembly to realise their dream.
He enumerated some projects, such as market stalls, District Courts, and classroom blocks the Assembly had executed in the area, and urged the people not to allow politics to create disaffection and intolerance among them.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, commended the people for their support and contributions that helped him lobby for projects into the area.
He urged the citizens of the area not to allow any form of galamsey in the Volta River surrounding them which could ruin their lives.
The chairman of Mepe Development Association, Kojo Mawuleme Fabian, speaking on peace noted that the relevance of togetherness in peace and development could not be overemphasised, hence the need to live in a world where there was harmony, progress and prosperity.
FROM KAFUI GATI, MEPE