Lead strategic collaboration for development - Horti Dufia urges chiefs
Traditional leaders have been charged to lead an agenda of strategic collaborations to promote youth focused development in their various jurisdictions to end regression and erode increasing crime among the youth.
The traditional authorities were advised to pool together both human and material resources as agents of development to engender socio economic development for the teeming young people in their areas.
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The Dufia (chief) of Horti in the Akatsi South District, Torgbui Ladzekpo Tetteh-Gefu IV, in a statement delivered on the occasion of the second anniversary of his enstoolment, urged his colleagues not to be diffident but collaborate with like-minded stakeholders to better the fortunes of their people.
Shun backward practices
To achieve these, Torgbui Tetteh-Gefu IV said land disputes and conflicts, divisiveness, voracious ambition for power, selfishness, disrespect, among other negative practices needed to be eradicated so that new grounds could be broken.
That, he said, could be achieved by collaborating with the elders, opinion leaders, unit committees, assembly members and the youth to engender development.
“Let us begin to share ideas with the youth and see how best we can develop our areas. Let us support one another for development and progress. Let us unite the people so that we will be able to heal all wounds sustained, whether by ourselves or by any other person,” he said.
Self-help initiatives
Torgbui Tetteh-Gefu IV noted that since the beginning of his reign, several development challenges had been identified including inaccessible water, poor roads and poor school infrastructure.
He indicated that the problems were tackled head on, including the provision of potable water, an extension of school infrastructure from primary four to primary six and the provision of a canteen for the school.
The chief also indicated that through effective collaboration, he was able to provide the school with six laptop computers for the effective teaching and learning of ICT.
Appeal
He used the occasion, which coincided with the purification rites of the Horti Ancestral Stool, to launch an appeal to benevolent individuals, organisations and the Member of Parliament of the area for the provision of additional laptops to improve IT in Horti and its environs.
He also appealed for the road network in the area to be improved but said he was putting in efforts to reshape the almost 5-km road, although more needed to be done for a permanent solution.
“The re-shaping of our roads is not helping us. There is the need to gravel it so that our people could easily transport foodstuffs to the market centres, most especially Akatsi-Xavi-Suipe, Hatorgodo and Bayive,” he said.
Torgbui Tetteh-Gefu IV said the establishment of a vocational school in his area was a key agenda to enable the youth acquire various skills to support themselves and reduce crime.
COVID-19 vaccination
The Paramount Chief and President of the Avenor Traditional Area, Torgbe Dorglo Anumah VI, for his part urged the people to take education on COVID-19 and its variants seriously and to endeavour to vaccinate themselves in order to minimise risks.
For his part, the Municipal Chief Executive for Akatsi South, Mr Martin Kofi Nyahe, also charged chiefs to play mediation roles in land disputes to prevent escalations, while also urging them to remain unbiased in settling such disputes.
