President Akufo-Addo greeting Nana Afari Mintah whilst the Queenmother looks on
The Chief of the Chiraa Traditional Area in the Sunyani West District of the Bono Region, Nana Afari Mintah, has said that the only way the country can be ‘fixed’, as being demanded, is for every citizen to play his or her part in the development process.
Nana Mintah expressed these sentiments on Wednesday, when President Akufo-Addo called on him at his palace, as part of his two-day tour of the Bono Region.
“Nana, not long ago, some young men, who call themselves Fixthecountry advocates, demonstrated. Nana, I and my (queen) mother will help you in fixing the country. Governance is not for a single person or few people to undertake. It is a collective responsibility. It is for all of us to contribute our quota in developing the country. Let us all, in unity, support the President in discharging his vision to develop Ghana,” he said.
The Chiraa Chief stated that, “If you want to fix Ghana and you are into galamsey, can you do it? Our water bodies have been destroyed through galamsey. How do we fix a country with this attitude?”
He also asked if the country can be fixed with the attitude of degrading forests and the natural environment as well as a refusal to pay the right taxes.
“Our forest reserves, left for us by our forefathers, forests which belong to the state, you enter them and cut down the trees, you degrade them. How do you fix it? Pay taxes, you say I will not pay, you dodge it. Can you fix it?” he quizzed.
He also asked how the country could be fixed or developed “when people go to work at 11am, when they are to be there at 9am,” adding “if we all unite and listen to the President and do what we are supposed to, I know Ghana will develop.”
Nana Mintah lauded the President for living up to expectation with his year of roads pledge, saying “When he talked about the year of roads, it wasn’t a fluke. Today we have seen it ourselves. A road network, which has been unattended to for years, regimes upon regimes have come and gone, and never witnessed even upgrading, today, we see it being constructed.”
He said President Akufo-Addo has done well with infrastructural projects and other interventions for the Chiraa Senior High School, saying “In all sincerity, what Nana has done for us, the Chiraa Senior High School, when the students were 2,155, where they would sleep was a challenge. At a point, we even considered renting a house for the students. The MP, Ignatius Baffuor Awuah told me to exercise patience. As we speak, thanks to you Nana Addo, within a short time, we have three girls’ dormitories. We no longer have any challenges for the girls. The boys also have dormitories. There are also enough classroom blocks, Nana, the people of Chiraa are grateful to you.”
The chief appealed for the provision of a bus as well as the completion of all other amenities for the school to train more youth.
The chief said the President is leading the implementation of pro-poor policies like the Free Senior High School programme, Planting for Food and Jobs and the One District, One Factory initiative, and must be supported to make Ghana better.
He used the opportunity to appeal to the President to establish an agro-based factory in the district as farming is the mainstay of the people.
From Daniel Yao Dayee, Sunyani