MANYA KROBO
The Land Of Endless Possibilities....

(Speech by Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo on the occasion of inauguration of Manya Krobo Development and Revitalization Committee and website at Odumase on Saturday April 11, 2015.)

Neneme, Manyeme, Members of Parliament, Municipal Chief Executives, Madam Chiarperson, representatives from the church, business, education and health, ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon. I bring you greetings on behalf of the Manya Krobo Development and Revitalization Committee! I also thank you attending today’s important event.

Today is a very auspicious day in the life of Kroboland. Today we have come to publicly and fully recognise and celebrate our beloved land. Today we come to make a very public commitment to building on the many good works that are underway in Manya Krobo.

Our aim is to do this by engaging, through our committee; with all parts of Manya Krobo; by supporting the talents and potential we have; by promoting strong coordination and team work; by galvanising our young people into action; by promoting meaningful and positive transformation in the areas of health, sanitation and environment, education, culture and economic development.

This is an act of leadership and dedication and I wish to applaud all those who have stepped up to provide this vital leadership in helping us to get to this stage of organization.

The Manya Krobo Development and Revitalization Committee came together out of many conversations and deliberations over the past year. We wanted to find a way to better coordinate, plan, collaborate and support the urgent priorities of our Traditional Area. We made a commitment to working in partnership with all parts of our civil society and to make the committee diverse, representative and exceptionally skilled.

We agreed that while there are many important priorities we would focus on four core objectives:

1. Promoting, supporting, preserving and celebrating Krobo culture. We have a rich culture to be proud of and we must explore it.

2. Promoting business investment, economic development and employment—job opportunities for all and especially the youth.

3. Promoting health and sanitation, the Environment.

4. Promoting Education

Before going any further I would like to introduce members of the Manya Krobo Development and Revitalization Committee to you. Could you please stand when your name is called to be acknowledged?

Names,best replica watches titles and roles...

1. Nene Sakite II, Konor of Manya Krobo, Chairman

2. Hon. Boakye Agyarko, Senior Advisor to the Konor

3. Nene Kwesi Detse, Manoyami Matse

4. Professsor Gabriel Teye Ayum, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UDS, Tamale

5. Asfoatse Teye Adjiso, Suisi

6. Professor Sodah Ayerner, University of Ghana, Legon

7. Rev. E.T.Tekpetey, District Pastor, Zimmermann Congregation, Odumase.

8. Steve Opata, Bank of Ghana

9. Chief Asada Ahor, Akuse Matse and PRO, Trad. Council

10. Ing. Philip Padi, Commissioner, Klomagbi

11. Ebenezer Kwesi, Maths Teacher, JHS

12. Reindolf Botchway, Content Manager

13. Nartey Wakemeh, Traditional Council

14. Thahiyat Mohammed Zabado, Assistant to the Konor

15. Dr. Joseph Teye Nuertey, Regional Director, GHS, Ho

I want to now say a few words about some of our activities underway or those being planned:

1. Culture. We will continue to collect and archive important information on Krobo culture, life and history. Much of this will be promoted and showcased on our website which I will talk about it later. We will also undertake an extensive review of the economic, cultural, administrative and marketing aspects of our annual Ngmayem Festival so we will be in a position to more fully capitalise on this important and powerful feature of Krobo life going forward; The festival must be self sustainable. This is our target from now on.

2. Economic Development. We have started to explore opportunities for potential relocation of some industries to Manya Krobo. We will be working closely with both Municipal Assemblies and the national government to aggressively and creatively stimulate economic development.

We are currently preparing to sponsor and support a select number of young people who are preparing to get into the trades by subsidising their Apprenticeship fees. We will be looking for serious, reliable and committed youth who are prepared to give back to Manya Krobo on graduation.

1. Health and Sanitation. This past Thursday we inaugurated a planning project committee that will provide leadership in the development of plans for a comprehensive, multi-purpose eye clinic in Manya Krobo. This is a joint partnership between the Accra Golden Lions Club, the Netrayla Lions Club of Toronto and Manya Krobo. Glaucoma is a major health concern in Ghana and it has its roots in diabetes, genetics, access to early and qualified care and poverty.

2. We are also exploring the possibilities of developing a Manya Krobo pilot project on Chronic Disease Management in partnership with academic and public health supports in Canada, the Ensign College of Public Health, the Ghana Health Service , as well as other health professionals.

This project could potentially provide preventative support to the work of the eye clinic and other chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

1. Sanitation

We take or environment seriously. And as a point of interest we are the first to start making noise about sanitation in the nation with clear mandate to our Municipal Assembly. I am delighted that today in Ghana we have designated the first Saturday of every month for sanitation. A day to clean our backyard.

1. Education

Education is so important on our agenda and we shall continue to pursue it vigorously. We’ll still have the Education Endowment Fund to assist deserving students. As far as infrastructure is concerned, I’ll urge you all to visit our High Schools periodically and you will notice tremendous improvements

Mechanisms to support our priorities

Collaboration

We will work in collaboration with all entities- all those who are serious about the positive development of Kroboland. The important work being done in education, healths, at the municipal assemblies, by NGOs and by the business sector are things we wish to support and build on in partnership. Manya Krobo has serious challenges in all of these areas baby care tips and it will take a concerted, coordinated effort by all to capitalise on the best of our ideas, to enhance current work and to propose new options.

Coordination and Alignment

Our Committee will host an Annual Forum that will bring the best and brightest minds together to identify effective and innovative initiatives in all of our priority areas. It will be a practical and focused event that is geared towards reducing duplication, enhancing collaboration and partnership and building new alliances. It will also be a critical planning and coordination vehicle for the work.

Communication and Promotion

As you will hear later, our multi-functional website is designed to do many things. This will be a powerful planning, coordination and information resource as well as a potential source of revenue generation. Equally as important, the website will provide a citizen’s global gateway to Manya Krobo. The creative marketing and promotion of Manya Krobo to the world is an important priority for us. We have many young people with creative talents and connections to the different types of technical interfaces that can help us to make Manya Krobo a stylish, attractive and cool place to work, invest, visit and support for our international markets.

Integration of Youth Considerations

Young people are the most vulnerable part of our society. All of our activities will ensure that considerations for youth are integrated into our work in terms of their welfare, active participation and their meaningful representation.

Use of Data

The importance of good planning and decision-making cannot be overstated. We wish to model a particular way of working. By this I mean that we will need to ensure a good balance between our everyday perspectives on issues on one hand and the active and deliberate utilization of accurate, current and relevant data and analyses in all of our work. We believe that this combination will bring the best decisions. This is where our professionals and academics can best support it.

Our Committee work

As you can appreciate, this work is quite demanding. It requires dedication, seriousness and commitment. We have made a strong statement of accountability by publicly presenting ourselves to you today. While we have a strong core of committee members we are looking to bolster our team with more talent. If you have the interest in any of our priority areas – health and sanitation, education, economic development, culture. Let us know. If you are interested in our social media area, please let us know. If you have expertise in marketing, development, planning, community development, let us know. If you know individuals who are capable and committed and reliable in any of these areas please let us know replique montre. This is our time.

On behalf of the committee I want to thank you for being here today. I wish also to thank the organising committee for pulling this event together: Asafoatse Teye Adjiso, Nene Kwesi Detse, Thahiyat Mohammed, Juliana Baidoo, Ebenezer Kwesi, Nene Asada Ahor and Reindolf Botchway. Thanks also to the Zimmerman Presbyterian Church, Odumase for graciously  providing support through the use of their space.

Thank you all.

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