Chiefs petition Kufuor on Quality Grain Project

The chiefs and people of the Battor and Mepe Traditional Areas have decided to petition President Kufuor on the state of the Quality Grain Project at Aveyime.

The petition, which would be presented after the January 7, 2005, inauguration of the second term of President Kufuor, is meant to find out “precisely the future of the rice project.”

Mr. Ken Dzirasah, the Second Deputy Speaker in Parliament, disclosed this at a durbar of the chiefs and people of the Battor Traditional Area to mark this year's Hogbeza celebrated on the theme “Education for Progress” at Battor in the North Tongu District of the Volta Region on Saturday.

According to him, it did not augur well for the economy, considering the enormous capital injection that had been made while the original owners of the land were without farm land and had not received any compensation.

Mr. Dzirasah stated that a delegation would appeal to President Kufuor to allow the citizens of the area to take over the project and manage it themselves, adding that “we are ready to look for investors to come to our aid.”

The Paramount Chief of the Battor Traditional Area, Togbega Patamia Dzekley Vll, commended the people in the area for being well-behaved during the just ended general elections.

Togbega Dzekley Vll, also appealed to the North Tongu District Assembly to sponsor some young people from Battor Traditional Area to enter teacher training colleges so that upon qualification they would return to the area to teach.