The paramount chief of Gonja, the Yagbonwura, Tuntumba Boresa Sulemana Jakpa, has conferred the title Gariba Yenawura Wura (to wit, “King of Promise Keepers”) on the president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
The honour, the Yagbonwura said, is in recognition of “your good works done Savannah Region”, adding: “The people of the republic see you as a man of hope with vision for acting swiftly and walking your talk.”
He explained that President Akufo-Addo is “bridging gaps, and strongly co-ordinating Ghana’s development transformation. Let me quickly prompt you that your boldness, affable nature, dedication, determination and call to duty in time touched the traditional authority of the Gonja Kingdom to give a new branding to your name, His Excellency Gariba Yenawura Wura.”
The overlord of Gonja made this known on Wednesday 29 July, when President Akufo-Addo paid a courtesy call on him before cutting the sod for commencement of building work on the US$49 million Damongo Water Supply Project.
“Bold steps” to relieve a challenge
Describing the president as “a brother from another mother to us”, the Yagbonwura thanked President Akufo-Addo, once again, for making possible the creation of the Savannah Region. The new region, he said, has been a request made by successive overlords of Gonja for the past 50 years.
He expressed the delight of the people of Damongo, and, indeed, of the whole Savannah Region at the pace of works on the construction and congratulated the Savannah Regional Co-ordinating Council.
“Today, Yenawura Wura is here again on the soil of the Savannah Region to once again bring to the people of the Savannah Region potable drinking water, which the people were denied all these years,” said the Yagbonwura. “Mr President, as you cut the sod for work to begin to supply potable water to the Damongo township, I have the belief that it will extend to benefit the junction community, connecting to Busunu, Mempeasem, Dzornukuntu, Atsuvunyo and to Larabanga,” he said.
Tuntumba Sulemana Jakpa continued, “The name tag Nchubaruyu, over the years, meaning ‘no water’, as people of Damongo are called by visitors and other passers-by, will very soon be a thing of the past.”
He expressed his appreciation to the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Honourable Cecilia Abena Dapaah, and to the managing director of Ghana Water Company Ltd, Dr Clifford Braimah, “for their tremendous contribution and bold steps in their resolve to find a solution to the acute water challenge in the region”.
The overlord of Gonja appealed to the president to help construct more road network linkages and connections within the region to accelerate local development. And he acknowledged the presence of contractors working on road projects such as the Bojai-Fulfulso road, the Daboya-Mankarigu Road, the Salaga-Kpandai Road, and the 15-kilometre road linking all parts of the town of Damongo.
Wilberforce Asare / Asaase Radio
* Asaase Radio 99.5 – now live on your radio. Tune in or log on to broadcasts online.
#asaaseradio
#TVOL
