First lady advises Agotime to rebrand its Kente
From Winston Tamakloe, Kpetoe
The first lady, Mrs Ernestina Naadu Mills, has advised the people of Agotime Traditional Area to rebrand the Agotime Kente to meet international standards.
By so doing “they will be able to reclaim what is legitimately theirs”. She said.
She urged them “to think about how to popularize the Kente fabric to ensure that everyone can afford and use it”
Mrs. Mills gave the advice at the 12th Agotime Kente Festival at Kpetoe in the Adaklu Anyigbe District last Saturday.
It was on the theme, “Kente: our heritage for wealth creation”.
The festival attracted Ministers of State, Members of Parliament, Municipal and District Chief Executives and the Diplomatic Corps.
Clad in different types of Kente designs, the chiefs, queen mothers and elders of the area showcased the kente as they walked through the principal streets with their large retinue.
Mrs. Mills expressed concern about the marketing techniques and pricing of the fabric and cautioned that overpricing could push tourists and buyers away while under pricing could undermine the value of the fabric”.
The first lady said that local heritages could be used to create wealth and thus promote socio-economic advancement.
However, she said, that care must be taken not to involve under-aged children in the kente industry.
Mrs. Mills charged parents to send their children to school to acquire the needed knowledge and skills that would transform the country.
She advised the Kente weavers to be innovative and creative in order to sustain the industry adding that “technological advancement is both a threat and an opportunity to improve the designs and packages of the kente products”.
Mr. Joseph Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister, urged the chiefs and people to use the Eco-Tourism Center and a bakery project to galvanize their energies and resources to improve their productive capabilities to bring progress to the area.
“We need to focus on the objective of the center and bakery and eschew all forms of divisiveness, apathy and rancor and keep the communal spirit up and whip up enthusiasm towards their success”, he stressed.
Nene Nuer Keteku II, Konor of Agotime Traditional Area, appealed to the government to the government to put the festival on the Ghana tourism calendar of festival and to give it the needed recognition so as kick out charlatan from the industry.
Mrs. Juliana Azumah-Mensah, Minister of Women and Children’s affairs, assured the people that the government was committed to establishment to the establishment of a tomato processing factory to create more jobs and also help reduce the perennial post harvest losses that occurred during the harvest season.
Mr. James Afunu, a banker who chaired the function, appealed to the chiefs and elders of the are to sustain the peace, the peace, harmony and unity prevailing so that they could focused on their businesses to enable them to promote their trade.
*Source :
The Ghanaian Times Page: 17 Tuesday, September 7, 2010. |