Ehi appeals for support to complete gari factory

The chief and people of Ehi in Ketu North in the Anlo State in the Volta Region have celebrated the fourth edition of the Ehi Nutome Galiza 2019, with an appeal to the government to help the town to expand its gari business.

The Dufia of Ehi, Togbi Dzeble Adukpo IV, also appealed to the government to help the town complete its gari factory, suggesting that cassava production in the area could feed into the government’s agricultural flagship, Planting for Food and Jobs, agenda.

Ehi and its surrounding communities are noted for the cultivation of cassava and for the processing of gari.

Appeal

Togbi Adukpo IV, who made the appeal, said “after developing our patented six special gari varieties, we need help to expand production to export quality and quantity”.

Addressing government officials at the durbar, he said, “you are the best people to offer us that help and to show us the way in making this industry grow to bring more jobs and opportunities to the youth in the area.”

The festival

The festival, which was on the theme, “Empowering women through agriculture and entrepreneurship,” provided an avenue for the chief and people of Ehi to showcase their rich culture, unity in diversity and also use the opportunity to market its niche in gari processing.

Bagged and packaged gari was on sale, while some women were on hand demonstrating the processes the cassava go through before becoming gari.

It was attended by sub chiefs and their subjects in the Anlo State as well as political figures, including the Minister of Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr Kofi Dzamesi, a Deputy Minister of Transport, Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus- Glover, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for the area, Mr James Klutse Avedzi, and the Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Letsa.

Development challenges

Touching on the state of the roads in the area, Togbi Adukpor IV expressed concern that after the women toiled to cultivate and process the gari, “They trek on the same bad road network to the markets.”

“This has made our lives miserable in Ehi and it’s surrounding villages. We appeal to the government of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to complete the on-going town roads and road networks that connect Ehi and its environs to the marketing centres.

“To the best of our knowledge, these roads have already been duly awarded on contract. Our government should just help the contractors to complete them,” he appealed.

Togbui Adukpo IV further appealed to the Ketu Municipal Assembly to include the town in the budgeting in the common fund to help revamp the market and make it better with a modern creche for the women.

Appeal

Speaking in reference to the appeal for the roads, Mr Avedzi told the chief and his people that the roads in the area were awarded on contract and wondered why the government said there were no available documentation to that effect.

He asked the people in the area to redirect their appeal to the government of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), “because NDC is not longer in power, it is the NPP,” adding that the roads in the Ehi township and its surrounding community truly needed immediate attention.

Rebutal

Responding to the comments by the MP, Mr Dzamesi said the truth needed to be told that since 2006 when the MP pledged that the roads would be constructed, nothing had been done so far.

On the appeal by Togbi Adukpo IV, Mr Dzamesi stated that for the gari business the women were into, it called for the construction of a bigger market and pledged to construct one for the town.

He said festivals were used to develop communities, and therefore urged the people to unite to develop the town and not to allow politics to divide them.

Commendation

For his part, Mr Glover promised to convey the concerns of the chief and his people about the bad nature of their roads to the Ministry of Roads and Highways, “Since we are neighbours.”

He commended the hard work of the people of Anlo and said whatever help that they required which was within his jurisdiction would be provided for them.