Govt releases GH¢40m for Eastern Corridor road

The government has released GH¢40 million for the continuation of work on the southern and northern parts of the Eastern Corridor road, the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, has stated.

Addressing a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Asogli State to mark this year's Yam Festival in Ho last Saturday, Mr Amissah-Arthur assured the people that issues relating to the Ho-Adaklu-Adidome roads were being addressed and added, 'We are also working to repackage the Eastern Corridor road.'

This year's festival, which was climaxed with a spectacular grand durbar, attracted scores of people from all walks of life, including local and foreign tourists.

It was on the theme, 'Let us make our nation great and strong'.

The Vice-President indicated that the celebration of the Asogli Yam Festival was testimony to the quality of leadership available in the Asogli State.

'I urge the citizens to continue to support their leaders to quicken the pace of development and make this area a better place to live and work,' he remarked.

He added that the festival was relevant not only to the development of the Asogli area but also the country's efforts to create opportunities for all to build a 'better Ghana'. Festivals

Mr Amissah-Arthur said festivals ought to become platforms to project Ghana's best cultural heritage and practices and also opportunities to galvanise communities for development.

'A festival cannot just be a celebration but an opportunity to develop new ways of improving our agricultural and farming methods and contribute to progress,' he emphasised.

He stated that the establishment of the University of Health and Allied Sciences in the Volta Region was an indication that the government was not unmindful of the hopes and aspirations of the people of the region.

Mr Amissah-Arthur gave an assurance that measures were being taken to complete the Volta Regional Library and other ICT projects, including the office complex for the Centre for National Culture.

He reiterated the call on Ghanaians to take the current public education on Ebola seriously by observing proper environmental practices such as regular washing of hands.

He noted that the government, for its part, would continue to do everything possible to ensure that the best standards of public health were maintained. Togbe Afede

The Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV, who addressed the durbar, said he felt honoured to have ended this year's celebration on a day that coincided with the 105th birthday of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah.

While eulogising Dr Nkrumah's leadership qualities, he indicated that that vision of the late President to build a great nation inspired the choice of the theme for this year's festival.

'Dr Nkrumah gave Ghanaians hope and laid the foundation for our survival as a nation,' he stated.

He called on the political class to re-focus attention on the key objectives of the founding fathers of the country to build a great nation, instead of allowing partisan politics to tear the nation apart.

He observed that becoming a great nation did not require only natural resources but also strong and hardworking men and women who valued truth and honour, coupled with the willingness to change the world to make a difference in the lives of the people.

Togbe Afede asked Ghanaians to be inspired by the achievements of relatively small nations such as Britain and Israel that achieved greatness through the building of a united, politically and economically stable and viable nations. Corruption

The traditional leader likened corrupt state officials to 'termites at the woodwork' who undermined the march of a nation to greatness because they ate the foundation of future development and asked the government to intensify the fight against corruption.

The Paramount Chief of Notsie in the Republic of Togo, Togbe Agorkorli, who chaired the durbar, called for an integration of all Ewes who are spread across some communities in Nigeria, Togo and Ghana in order to institute and celebrate one festival.