Vice President Mahama calls for respect for Ghanaian culture
Vice President John Dramani Mahama on Saturday appealed to Ghanaians to disregard those aspects of civilization and westernization that impacted negatively on the society.
He said although Ghana was part of the global process of networking, it was expedient to avoid other aspects of globalization that contravened “our traditions and culture.”
Vice President Mahama made this appeal when he addressed the chiefs and people of Axim during their annual Kundum Festival.
The festival, which is to foster unity among the people, included a health walk, durbar of chiefs, state dance and crowning of Miss Kundum and dinner for the 50th Anniversary of Awulae Atibrukusu III, Paramount Chief of the area.
The Vice President said more than half of the three billion dollars Chinese loan would be used for development projects in the Western Region and called on them to desist from utterances that could undermine the peace and unity the country was enjoying.
Vice President Mahama said $200 million would be used for the establishment of the first phase of the Takoradi Petroleum Project at Pumpuni, while fishing harbours would also be constructed at Axim and Dixcove to facilitate their fishing activities.
He said government would also rehabilitate the Enchi-Dadieso road and the Takoradi-Dunkwa-Awaso railway to provide traveling alternatives to the people of the area and also facilitate the carting of foodstuff from the rural areas to the marketing centres.
The Vice President said government would resume the construction of the Axim police quarters which was abandoned after the overthrow of General Kutu Acheampong and add the four and half-kilometre Axim town roads to the EXIMBANK projects in the region.
Madam Catherine Afeku, Member of Parliament for Evalue-Gwira, said she had instituted a scholarship scheme under which 30 girls from the Axim Girls Senior High School were beneficiaries.
She said she was also supporting 20 girls for a three-year apprenticeship course in sewing and called on the youth to take their training programmes seriously to become self-reliant in future.
Madam Afeku appealed to government to support her efforts at retaining girls in school to stem their high drop-out rate in the constituency.
Awulae Atibrukusu III, Paramount Chief of the area, called on government to absorb the only girls’ Senior High School into the formal educational system for them to enjoy government’s infrastructural development and admit more students in the coming years.
The Paramount chief, who also celebrated his 50th birthday, appealed to government to draw up a plan to build a defence wall for Axim to avoid flooding and its resultant negative impact on the inhabitants of the area.
Source: GNA