Wangara Kurubi festival celebrated in Kintampo [Photos]

The Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, has reiterated government’s commitment to the development of the country’s human resource through the introduction of social intervention programmes such as the Free SHS and the Zongo Development Fund.

He has thus asked parents to take advantage of the initiatives to build a better future for their children.

“For many children in low income and poor communities, the opportunity to go to school means everything for their future. Education is the key, and I therefore encourage our parents to take advantage of the Free SHS programme of the government to enroll our children at the basic school to enable them progress to the senior high school to benefit from this intervention”, he added.

He said government will invest monies from the Zongo Development Fund into critical areas such education and training, health, security, improve access to water, sanitation and infrastructure, to bridge the development gap of the Zongo communities.

Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia disclosed these in Kintampo when he joined the chiefs and people of the Wangara community in Ghana, to celebrate their annual national Benkadi Kurubi festival held at Kintampo.

It was on the theme: “Transformation of the Zongo Communities, the Role of the Youth” and was attended by Ministers of State, other government functionaries, and thousands of Wangaras across the country.

He observed that festivals in Ghana served a number of purposes such as how people have governed themselves, how they have held society together, how they cherish peace, and how to strengthen that peace, since  it takes peace to build a better society.

He therefore commended the Wangara community in Ghana for the successful organization of the Kurubi festival.

“Conflicts destroy people, conflicts destroy wealth and we cannot build the future through sensational conflicts. With festivals, we honour and thank those who have gone before us. It is with festivals that we celebrate our community achievements; we summon ourselves to the challenges of the future, and call on the young ones to the service of their communities. As we gather here today, it is my prayer that the Wangara community in and around Kintampo or in Ghana, will take lessons of the sacrifices made by those who came before us, so that we can build stronger communities and become worthy citizens”, he emphasized.

The Vice President hinted of government plans to agriculture as the first step to building factories as part of the one district, one factory policy, and also to boost the planting for foods and jobs programme.

He assured that every constituency in the country will be allocated an additional one million US dollars equivalent annually, for the development of the constituency as captured in the 2018 budget.

He asked young graduates to advantage of government’s Nations Builders Corp initiative, and gain more experience in readiness for the job market.

The President of the Council of Wangara Chiefs in Ghana, Sariki (Nana) Yusif Fanyinama III, in his welcome address observed that festivals in the country are celebrated for several reasons and the Kurubi festival celebrates the values, traditions, family reunification and a platform for implementing development interventions in their communities to enhance the socio-economic needs of their people.

“The Kurubi festival continues to expose to the world the huge potentials of cultural and eco-tourism of our people, and Kintampo which has attracted both public and private investments, and has become a major activity of the World Tourism Day Celebrations and UNESCO heritage festivals.”

He commended government for the creation of the Zongo and Inner City Ministry, and appealed for the establishment of an Urban Roads Secretariat in Kintampo to help with the construction and maintenance of the major roads in municipality to check the fast rate of erosion consuming the municipality.

Sariki Fanyinama III also appealed to the Government and National Security to consider absorbing part of the bills of security patrol teams on the Kintampo-Buipe Highway, and the security detachment at Portor to reduce pressure on the Municipal Assembly.

He tasked Wangaras both home and abroad to promote peace and unity for sustainable development of the country.

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By: Mashoud Kombat/citifmonline.com/Ghana