AKPAFU CELEBRATES IRON FESTIVAL (PAGE 22)

THE people of the Akpafu Traditional Area in the Hohoe Municipality have held a grand durbar at Akpafu–Todzi to climax their annual iron festival to give glory for the mining of iron ore in the area discovered some 400 years ago.
The ceremony was graced by the Members of Parliament (MPs) for Hohoe North and Hohoe South constituencies, Mr Joseph Amenowode and Mr Prince Hayibor, respectively.
At the ceremony, Mr Amenowode, who is also the newly appointed Volta Regional Minister, said it was his first public appearance after being confirmed by Parliament on his new portfolio, and thanked the people for the honour done him.
He said President John Evans Atta Mills made a lot of promises during the electioneering and gave the assurance that those promises would take some time to be fulfilled due to the world economic recession which had affected the financial situation of the country.
The regional minister said measures such as improved tax collection and the reduction in the importation of rice and other products had been put in place to mitigate the situation.
He reiterated govern-ment’s determination to continue with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) to offer jobs to the youth, adding that it would be pursued without any political expediency.
Mr Amenowode urged the people to take advantage of the economic improvement that the re-construction of the Tema-Hohoe-Nkwanta-Tamale road would bring to the area in order to improve upon their living conditions.
He promised that educational infrastructure in the country would be rehabilitated to facilitate teaching and learning.
In an address, a sub-chief of Akpafu, Nana Akoto Brempong, expressed concern about lack of adequate educational infrastructure and teachers in the area.
He also lamented the lack of drinking water in the area due to the contamination of their source of water supply by iron ore, which could affect the health of the people.
Nana Akoto appealed to the government to create a separate traditional council for the Akpafu Traditional Area.
The MP for Hohoe-North, Mr Prince Hayibor, appealed to the people to give the President sometime to fulfil his promises as the financial situation of the country inherited by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government posed a great challenge to it.