Kumawu's woes could partly be blamed on its own citizens. The negligence of duty, refusal to come into mutual agreement on issues about the welfare of the town and its inhabitants, on the part of the very citizens themselves, is also to blame. Their lack of participating physically and financially in suggested infrastructural projects, raising irrelevant excuses to justify their lack of motivation towards self-help projects in the area, is a contributing factor to our retrogression or stagnation, regarding the provision of social and economic amenities in the area.
The other part of the problem lays in the cowardice, the lack of dynamism, the lack of interactive socialization with the constituents to knowing their dire demands on the government, as often exhibited by our sitting Members of Parliament.This makes it hard for Kumawuman to get anything, or better said, its fair slice of the national cake. As the MPs fail to go on their feet at Parliamentary deliberations, putting across the requests and the needs of Kumawuman, drenched in sweat, mopping off dripping sweat from their face with sweat-soaked handkerchiefs, the Kumawu Traditional area will always be sidelined in the provision of infrastructure by whichever government comes to power.
I am not here to open up a can of worms, but help us to identify some of the reasons or problems holding us back, to be able to pursue right tracks without pitfalls or potholes in midway, in our endeavour to liberate ourselves from the lack of wants of say, public toilets and most especially, chemically treated drinkable water, the very bane of Kumawuman.
I pray the citizens of Kumawuman, both at home and principally in Diaspora, to come off their evil notion of not assisting towards community projects themselves, but love to pull those willing to down or discourage them from helping. I have witnessed this act myself where within their heart and secret reasoning, they claim the exponent or the proponent of an intended project as arrogating to them self the due glory, and so had better thwart him or her, quite provincial indeed. Does this originate from their unuttered conviction that the person from whom the suggestion comes from is either young, or new to the Kumawuman society at that particular moment in time, so the one not worthy for the resultant credit for such suggestion? Regardless of the benefits of the project to the society had it been carried out, for this very fact as stated above, they will ensure that it is never pursued let alone materialized.
My people should learn to appreciate useful ideas irrespective of their source of origin. It is not mandated for good intentions to originate from the elderly alone or those with outstanding education or else, the following proverbs would not be true.? Grey hair is not a repository of wisdom" neither is an old age an indication of wisdom. Also, intelligence and wisdom do not forcibly lay in theoretical paper qualification of any magnitude, though related field technical expertise is or may be.
I was home recently and could see for myself the suffering of our people, rising up very early in the morning around 4.am to fetch water from the far away streams before going to their farms or the children going to school. On return from the days tedious work on the farms under the scorching sun, or from school, they need to make other round trips to the streams again, their daily way of life. Just imagine how horrible that is.
Before suggesting combative ways for overcoming our shortfalls in the acquisition of pipe borne water and other related social and economic amenities for Kumawuman, may I seize the offered opportunity to highlight on the following?
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I personally share the view, the appreciation of gratitude as expressed by the Kumawu-Zongo Community to all those that helped in diverse ways to secure them a KVIP toilet. The idea originated from London. It was initially financed through heartfelt money contribution from me, Mr. Kwabena Gyesaw (nephew of the late "OH YES"), Mr. Kwame Owusu Ansah (a.k.a. OLU), Lawyer Osarfo Agyekum Nyanor now practicing in Accra, and my late sister Martha Basoah (a.k a. Nana Amma) of most cherished memory. All the letters soliciting funds from other persons and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) were done by Mr. Samuel Ankrah (a.k.a. Kwabena Antwi).
The dynamism of the set up committee to oversee the realization of the project cannot go without mention. My personal thanks go to the committee members comprising Nana Larbiu ( Zongohene) as the Chairman, the Alhajis, Mr. Appiah Basoah, Mr. Kwaku de Graft Nyanor, and all the others whose names have just escaped my mind.
The NGO that ensured the successful completion of the toilet after the initiators had run out of pocket financially cannot go without our congratulation.
SUGGESTIONS:
The idea of the rich laying in state of their dead in their abodes, then carry the bodies for burial at Kumawu, spending barely an hour and then back to the death place for the final funeral rites is not a remedial from exonerating themselves from blames of failure to participate in call-upon contributions towards Kumawuman. Formerly, the bodies were laid in state, buried and funeral, all conducted in Kumawu.Why is now this difference? We should all help in the common attempt to provide Kumawuman the needed infrastructure to hold in check this sad and shameful action regarding the dead. It is neither an honour to the dead nor yourself doing this while reneging on your duty-bound obligations to your place of birth or your origin. They do this in the hope of escaping or masking the likely shame to bring to bear upon them, should their sympathizers come to discover the complete scarcity of the basic comforts of life at Kumawu as against their affluence or opulence living elsewhere.
The Kumawuman people should learn to participate in "communal labour" physically and or financially. Those whose positions require that they take the lead in such occasions should please bear the responsibility accordingly.
The Kumawuman in Diaspora should e-mail this piece to their colleagues AND ALL KNOWN KUMAWUMAN ASSOCIATIONS, advising them to help towards the provision of infrastructure for Kumawuman especially, the water issue. I am abroad myself and know the dismal and negative reaction of the Kumawuman citizens, especially those from Kumawu, towards any proposals about the welfare of Kumawu which has to do with one dipping into their pocket to dish out money, whatever the amount. There should not be room for this stingy behaviour now.
Some of us believe that we have been able to acquire ourselves magnificent accommodations in the cities of Ghana, so to hell with Kumawu or Kumawuman and her problems. This is childish thinking. Have we forgotten our relations there and the rights offered us towards our upbringing through to seeing ourselves to what we are today?
"Cast thee no stones into the well that supplies thee with water". Also, "if the back of your teeth is bitter, it is there that you lick". Both adages are self explanatory needing no further exposition. We should not be ungrateful to our place of origin. We should learn not to deny our place of birth the needed services. It will make us proud to say it loud in public we come from the Kumawu area when all is rosy.
One Dr. S.M.K. Donkor, Water Engineer, currently serving as Africa Region Adviser on Water Development and Management of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, will for his contribution as a Kumawuman citizen throw his technical know-how at our disposal for free.
I am a strong believer in the collective well-being and advancement of people and society as a whole, rather than segregated and patchy individualistic interests which in the end bring down whole societies and people, hence this relentless effort being made to unite us behind an urgent common need.
Would our Honourable MP seize this opportunity to get in touch with the various Kumawuman Associations overseas, the rich and poor in the Kumawu traditional area, and put before them the urgency to raise the initial capital towards solving the water problem through personal contributions? He must as well be on his feet at Parliamentary deliberations, putting across with vim the needs of Kumawuman.
"May I never rest, until my good is better and my better best".
I will be back.
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