Apam youth appeal to chief

Members of the Apam Youth and Development Association (AYODA) have appealed to the Chief of Apam to furnish the youth with the terms of agreement struck with the investor in the Apam salt industry.

Mr Artborful Arkorful, spokesman for the youth, made the appeal at a meeting with members of AYODA at Apam on Tuesday.

He said they wondered why the agreement had been shrouded in secrecy, with the chief refusing to disclose its contents not even to the queen of the town let alone members of the association.

Mr Arkorful, also the financial secretary of the association, said the Apam salt industry was bequeathed to the town by an expatriate investor about 40 years ago when he was leaving Ghana.

He said the project, which was to be used to promote development, had rather become a misfortune due to mismanagement.

Mr Arkorful said since the salt industry was bequeathed to the town, not a single pesewa of the proceeds had been accounted for to the citizens and this had resulted in the refusal of the people to pay their development levies.

He said in order to check malpractices in the industry, the youth set up a management committee about five years ago, which was able to generate 3,000 Ghana cedis within a month.

“The chief and the elders have entered into partnership with an investor and all attempts by the youth and the queen to know the terms proved futile. As at now we do not know what the terms are and how the town can benefit from it.”

The youth, who also call themselves “Awareness Creators,” expressed concern about the indiscriminate and multiple sale of land in the area, which had made people scared of acquiring land in the town.

They, therefore, reminded land owners that the land was not for the current generation alone, but also for the generations yet unborn, so it must be safeguarded.

The youth also discussed problems such as teenage pregnancy, land boundaries, and placing kiosks and putting up buildings in areas demarcated for roads.

Mr Daniel Essuman, the Secretary of AYODA, appealed to parents to exercise their supervisory roles effectively over their daughters to enable them to get good education