New Juaben launches Development Dayhead of Akwantukese Festival

The New Juaben Traditional Area yesterday launched a Traditional Area Development Day (TADD) in Koforidua in the Eastern Region, as part of this year’s Akwantukese Festival.

The TADD is under the root-Based Economic Development (r-BED) model designed by the Omanhene of the New Juaben Traditional Area, Daasebre Prof. (Emeritus) Oti Boateng.

The r-BED is an award-winning model which seeks to push for development at the grass roots, in partnership with traditional authorities.

The launch preceded the grand durbar to climax the Akwantukese Festival on Saturday, November 23, 2019.

Development model

The Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, who launched the TADD, described it as a community-level approach to the government’s Ghana Beyond Aid agenda.

He said the introduction of a ‘citizens sector’ in the implementation of the TADD was a viable move for the mobilisation and harnessing of the country’s collective good.

According to him, the idea of community-led development was what the country needed to speed up growth in all sectors.

“It is our firm belief that development is not only something we do with others’ resources. We see TADD as a community level of the Ghana Beyond Aid agenda,” he stated.

Commendation

Dr Bawumia commended Daasebre Oti Boateng and his team for designing what he described as a laudable model for accelerated development.

He observed that there could not be any meaningful development without the active involvement of chiefs and, therefore, urged other chiefs to subscribe to the r-BED model.

Also present were the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Eric Kwakye Daffour, and the New Juaben South and North Municipal Chief executives, Mr Isaac Apau-Gyasi and Madam Comfort Asante, respectively.

Missing links

The President of the National House of Chiefs, Togbe Afede XIV, noted that even though the country had good plans in pursuit of its development aspirations, it had not been able to reach the desired goal “because there are a lot of missing links”.

He said it was, therefore, refreshing that Daasebre Oti Boateng had come up with an award-winning model which sought to push for development at the grass roots, in partnership with traditional authorities.

He said the model provided lessons for other traditional areas in and outside the country.

First Pan-African Model

“What is being unveiled today, the institution of the first Pan-African Traditional Area Development Day in the New Juaben Traditional Area, is to set the basis for the adoption and implementation of the award-winning first Pan-African Development Model,” Daasebre Oti Boateng said.

He described the model as a test of African intellectual assertiveness and global competitiveness, saying: “With the adoption of the r-BED model, Africa’s development landscape can boast three key partners, referred to as the TRIPOD, made up of the public, the private and the citizens sector”.

According to the Omanhene, the public-public partnership framework was largely an imported Western model which was not consistent with the dynamics of Africa’s development landscape, especially in Ghana, where the missing sector held an important national asset for development.

He said the New Juaben Traditional Council decided, in July this year, to implement and sustain the model, which, when effectively implemented, would significantly improve the living conditions of the people.

Daasebre Oti Boateng said pursuant to that decision, a Community Economic Development and Investment (CEDI) Trust and the Traditional Area Fiscal and Economic Development (TRAFED) Board were established in each of the 12 communities in the traditional area.

They were inaugurated after the launch of the TADD yesterday.

He explained that the TRAFED Board would be compose of one representative each from the CEDI Trust, the New Juaben North and South Municipal assemblies, corporate entities and three representatives from the New Juaben Traditional Council.