Ho set for Independence celebration
All roads lead to the Volta Regional Youth Resource Centre at Adaklu-Tsrefe, near Ho, on Monday for the 66th Independence Day celebration.
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The theme for the big occasion is: “Our unity, our strength, our destiny”.
The Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, who has been inspecting the venue every week, said all was set for the celebration.
He expressed satisfaction at work done and said, “Volta Region is ready”.
The Youth Resource Centre has now become a tourist attraction as many members of the public have been visiting the place to catch a glimpse of the facility.
Guests
More than 5,000 people from various parts of the country are expected at the anniversary which will be graced by the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, who is the Chairman of the Economic Community West African States (ECOWAS), will be the special guest at the celebration which is expected to feature exciting cultural displays and a colourful parade, military exercise and displays such as rappelling, acrobatics and show of various skills and capabilities.
Dr Letsa said 80 members of the diplomatic corps would also take part in the celebration.
Parade
An anniversary walk in progress at Ho-Ahoe
On parade will be 64 officers and 1,042 men from the various security agencies, contingents drawn from seven senior high schools (SHS) and basic schools from the Ho Municipality and the Adaklu District and voluntary organisations’.
As of last Thursday, the road between the Adaklu District and Ho had been decorated with Ghana flags, hanging on utility poles; so were the principal streets of Ho and some communities at Adaklu.
Meanwhile, the streets of Ho are clean after a series of clean-up, while some workplaces and pubs have decorated their premises with the colours of the national flag.
Hospitality industry
The Daily Graphic gathered that the hospitality industry is making gains in the countdown to the celebration as rooms are sold out for March 6.
At one of the region’s ace hotels, the Volta Serene Hotel, for instance, a manager told the Daily Graphic that 60 per cent of the 300 rooms had been booked.
At the Sky Plus Hotel, a plush hotel that provides picturesque scenery of Ho, all the 100 rooms have been booked for the anniversary.
Security
The Independence Day celebration fever is spreading rapidly with a phenomenal presence of heavy armoured vehicles and armed personnel of the various security agencies.
For the past few days, early jogging sessions by various groups have become a normal feature of the regional capital.
Apart from the national colours which dominate Ho and Adaklu, portraits of paramount chiefs in the region have taken places of prominence on some key roads.
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has fixed 2,500 street lights in the Ho Municipality to illuminate the streets of Ho and the road towards Adaklu-Tsrefe to improve security, especially at night.
The ECG replaced defective street lights in the regional capital and installed new lights on other key roads in and around the municipality.
The Regional Manager of the ECG, Emmanuel Lumor, gave the assurance that there would be no interruption in power supply throughout the celebration.
The chiefs of the Asogli State have promised visitors a very cordial and unforgettable reception.
For her part, the Adaklu District Chief Executive, Juliana Kpedekpo, said, “We are ready to host the whole of Ghana at Adaklu for the celebration.”
The 66th Independence Day coincides with the 66th birthdays of the regional minister and the Agbogbomefia of Asogli, Togbe Afede XIV, while the 66 Artillery Regiment in Ho has the charge to lead preparations for the march past.
The regiment has assured the public that it had deployed men “in strength” to take charge of security during the celebration.
Some food joints have set up stands opposite the Regional Youth Resource Centre in the hope for brisk business during the celebration.
The Regional Environmental Health Officer, Stella Kumedzro, told the Daily Graphic that food vendors not medically screened and issued with health certificates would be denied access to the venue.
She said the move was to prevent communicable diseases.
Chiefs from paramountcies in the region are also expected at the celebration.
Taxi drivers, William Dogbe and Anthony Ahiagba, said they had serviced their vehicles ahead of the day, in anticipation of good business on the day.
The Daily Graphic also gathered that the some gamblers are now staking the number 66 with other numbers in the hope of winning the lottery during the 66th Independence Day celebration.