CULTURAL NEWS
Thursday, June 7, 2007
New Akrade launches 50th Anniversary of re-settlement
By: NYARKO HAMMOND
THE Chiefs and people of New Akrade in the Asuogyaman district of the Eastern Region last Saturday, launched the 50th anniversary celebration of their re-settlement.
Akrade acquired the ‘New’ status when the inhabitants migrated from their original settlement fifty years ago to establish the present township due to the construction of the Adomi Bridge by the then colonial administration.
Launching the anniversary celebration, at New Akrade near Atimpoku on Saturday, Emmanuel Ntow-Bediako, the District Chief Executive (DCE), commended the chiefs and people for living in harmony and peace since they moved from their original place of abode to the present location.
“No meaningful development can take place in the midst of conflicts and disputes which retard progress”, Ntow-Bediako said.
He said they should create an enabling environment to attract both local and foreign investors to the district.
Activities lined-up for the six months celebration include symposium on the redenomination of the cedi, tree planting exercises, blood donation, installation of new sub-chiefs, fun games, excursions to historical place/sites and the opening of the Abedru museum.
Others are fora on longevity, health care of the aged, fashion show, durbar and inter-denominational church service.
The DCE noted that, their relocation had rather united their front and attributed this to the cause their leadership decided to chart when it became necessary that they moved from the old abode in search of new challenges.
Mr. Ntow-Bediako assured the chiefs and people of New Akrade of the Assembly’s preparedness to assist in their developmental goals to better their standard of living.
In an address, the Chairman of the Anniversary Planning Committee, Dr. F.A. Okyere, commended the chiefs, elders and people for being law-abiding and hard working.
Giving the historical background of the town, Dr. Okyere said, “Akrade is the only town in Ghana whose ancestors or founders were not born but rather miraculously descended from the heavens with a female and male twins sitting in a brass pan”.
“It is this and similar mysteries that we want to reveal during the celebrations for all to realize the uniqueness of Akrade,” he added.
Dr. Okyere said, the construction of the Adomi Bridge at Atimpoku changed the fortunes of the town and as a result, the Akrade people, in 1957 moved from their original settlement.
He noted that the construction of the bridge brought mixed blessings to the people. Though it deprived them of the basic sources of livelihood and survival following the collapse of the commercial activities they indulged in collapsed, their movement to the new settlement had seen a lot of development and progress”.
*Source
The Ghanaian Times - Thursday, June 7, 2007 Page: 22
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