Address perennial flooding in Anlo — Torgbui Sri

The Awomefia of the Anlo State in the Volta Region, Torgbui Sri III, has appealed to government to tackle the recurring onslaught of tidal waves on some towns and villages in the area, as a matter of urgency.

The exceptionally large ocean waves have caused massive destruction to some coastal communities in recent times. Communities that have been badly affected by the sea waves include Blekusu, Fuveme, Atiteti and Agorkedzi, as well as Havedzi and Xorvi, the worst affected communities.

Torgbui Sri III said the situation had put the lives of residents of the affected communities at a great risk, and there was, therefore, the need for their plight to be addressed expeditiously.

He was speaking at a durbar of the chiefs and people of Anlo, which was held to climax activities for the 2017 annual Hogbetsotso Festival, at Anloga in the Keta Municipality last Saturday.

Torgbui Sri called for the sea defence wall to be extended to the entire stretch of the Anlo coast, as a means of curbing the perennial flooding along that area.

He also proposed that the Keta Lagoon should be dredged to preserve it and also help to improve aquaculture and fish production in the lagoon.

“When this is done it would help create jobs for the unemployed youth in Anlo,” he said.

The Awomefia commended the government for implementing the free senior high school (SHS) education policy and urged young people in the traditional area to eschew all forms of social vices and take advantage of the policy to achieve their aspirations.

He petitioned President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to fulfil the promise to construct a harbour at Keta and also carry on with oil exploration in the Keta basin.

Torgbui Sri further called on the government to rehabilitate roads in the area, particularly the Denu-Ho and Wheta-Metrikasa roads.

Hogbetsotso

The Hogbetsotso Festival is celebrated annually to commemorate the historic exodus of Anlos from Notsie in the Republic of Togo to their present location in Ghana. This year’s event had the theme:

‘Rebranding the history and tourist sites in the Anlo State for Development’.

Tens of citizens from all the 36 towns in Anlo and other visitors joined in this year’s celebration.

Historic monument

The Anlo Traditional Council is desirous of erecting a monument at ‘Torkor Atorlia’, a historic fish landing site close to the Keta Lagoon where ‘evil doers’ were buried alive in the past, as a means to preserve and promote the tradition and cultural practices of the people.

The traditional authorities believe the move would not only serve a useful site for learning for the younger generation, but would also boost tourism in the area aside Fort Prinzenstein at Keta, the current visitor attraction facility in the area.

Regional minister

The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa, who represented the President, lauded the chiefs and people of Anlo for sustaining the Hogbetsotso Festival, which he said had become a major attraction for tourists to the region.

He noted that cultural tourism was essential to the socio-economic development of the region and called for close collaboration among all stakeholders in the tourism industry and the Volta Regional Coordinating Council (VRCC), to promote tourism in the area, to facilitate the generation of the much needed revenue.

Dr Letsa reiterated the commitment of the government to improve the lot of Ghanaians through human-centred policies and programmes, such as the free SHS policy, Planting for Food and Jobs and one-district, one-factory’.

He said the President was on course to fulfilling the promises he made to the people of Anlo.

The minister urged fishermen in the area to embrace the government’s new policy of having registration numbers embossed on fishing canoes in the country. That, he said, would facilitate equitable distribution of premix fuel to fishermen at the landing beaches.

The durbar was chaired by the former Speaker of Parliament, Mr Edward Doe Adjaho. He called for unity among citizens of Anlo, as a prerequisite for the rapid transformation of the area.