Traditional rulers have to be key partners of development – President Akufo Addo

Correspondence from Eastern Region

President Akufo-Addo has underscored the critical roles traditional leaders must play in the development of the country, particularly towards its socio-economic development.

According to the President, the duty of development could not be left solely to the political leadership as traditional leaders have an important role to play as well.

The President was speaking to the chiefs and people of the Manya Krobo Traditional Area in the Eastern region during the grand durbar of the celebrations of the annual Ngmayem festival at Odumase Krobo.

“The responsibility for the socio-economic development of our beloved country cannot be left exclusively in the hands of government, traditional rulers have to be key partners of development,” said President Akufo Addo.

He commended the Paramount Chief of the area, Nene Sakite II for his critical roles played towards combating the HIV scourge both in the Krobo area and nationally.

The president also congratulated the chief on his silver jubilee anniversary and commended him on his several achievements over his 25 years reign including his commitment to accessing education, re-energizing the chieftaincy institution as president of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs as well as ensuring peace in the Manya Krobo Traditional Area.

“25 years of your reign has been fulfilling and a tribute to your untiring effort to bring peace and development to this area and improve the living standards of your people,” said the president who charged Nene Sakite to continue to lead his people to chart the course of development.

President Akufo-Addo stressed that the theme for the festival, “Development in unity, reviving patriotism through unification,” reflects the unity, resilience, and strength that come from working together towards achieving common goals as a people.

He said, “Unity in diversity is what is needed to ensure that all Ghanaians put their hands on the wheels of development to eradicate poverty, disease and underdevelopment.

Mr. Akufo-Addo also called on the people of Manya Krobo to deepen the spirit of unity, patriotism, and collaboration to address the developmental challenges confronting the area.

Economic recovery

Touching on the economy, President Akufo-Addo expressed optimism in its recovery following some setbacks in recent times. He said the economy was showing signs of recovery, assuring that all citizens would continue to reap the fruits of the NPP government.

“From all indications, our economy is beginning to rebound and it’s showing signs of returning to the strength it possessed in the first term of my administration,” he told the Konor. “This notwithstanding, I assure every Ghanaian that every part of Ghana will continue to benefit from my government.”

According to him, his government has undertaken several projects in the Manya Krobo area under his administration.

A major concern to the people in the area is the bad road network with the main Kpong-Somanya road having completely deteriorated only two years after its construction in 2016.

To fix the problem, the President said the Lower Manya Krobo Municipal has been selected as one of 35 districts to benefit from the Ghana Secondary Cities Support Program which he noted was part of the government’s broader urban development and decentralization agenda.

Under the program, the President said several projects including the construction of an ultra-modern business resource center for the municipal assembly, construction of the Canaan-Kpanyas road, ongoing redevelopment of the Aagomnaya market into a modern market, various road projects including the reconstruction of the So many-long road, amongst others have been initiated.

The president while emphasizing that the government was ready to partner with the traditional leadership to improve the lives of the citizens called for the support of the people to enable the government to realize its dreams for them.

He however made a special appeal to the chiefs and queen mothers to sustain their commitment to the prevailing peace in the country and urged the youth to resort to peace to settle issues and not resort to violence.