Afenorto Festival Slated For August 3

The Mepe Development Authority (MDA) has launched the 65^th Mepe Afenorto Festival at the Holiday Inn Hotel in Accra.

The ceremony was well-attended by high-profile dignitaries, including the Member of Parliament (MP) for the North Tongu Constituency, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the chief of the Igbo community in Ghana, Jude Chukwudi Ihenetu, heads of corporate institutions, among others.

The theme for this year's festival is 'building the structures for sustained development: the role of the youth', and it is scheduled to commence on the last Friday of this month, with the grand durbar slated for August 3.

In his remarks, Chairman of the MDA, Fabian Kojo Ellenu, disclosed that the objective for the media launch was to bring to the doorstep of the people of Ghana and the outside world the uniqueness of the Mepe Afenorto Festival, adding that the traditional practices celebrated by the people for the past 64 years have been done in the spirit of peace and oneness.

“It is also aimed building the right relationships with the media fraternity in order to reach out to government, industries, business communities and the general public in order to establish the appropriate partnership for social and economic development of the Mepe Traditional Area,” he stated.

Speaking on the theme, Mr. Ellenu stressed that it was carefully selected to place the youth at the forefront of development and the future of the Mepe community and the nation at large.

“The voice of the youth in Mepe and in Ghana as a whole matters a little in development issues. It is perhaps our culture that limits decision-making to the bosom of the elders and makes wisdom the preserve of the aged,” he bemoaned, adding that the plight of the youth in respect of leadership is further deepened by the lack of deliberate efforts to build the leadership capacity of the youth.

“As a country, our future is the youth. Our future plan for the youth is not to create a better world for them, but to create a better world with them,” he emphasized.

He, however, opined that there is the need to protect the youth from the manipulations of politicians and political parties who use them to cause mayhem; rather, they should be empowered and equipped with education and training in order to make them independent of the rich and privileged few who abuse their dependency.

Mr. Ellenu also advised the youth to strive to preserve their conscience, guard their future and forcefully ward off any attempt by the powers that be. “Instead, they should concentrate on using their God-given talents to the benefit of their communities and the nation at large,” he underscored.

By Nii Adjei Mensahfio