The Chiefs and people of Bonakye in the Akyode traditional area, in the Nkwanta-South Municipality of the Oti Region, have celebrated their annual yam festival over the weekend, where they showcased the rich culture of the people.
The festival, which attracted hundreds of people across the country and abroad, was on the theme: ‘’ Eradicate poverty through good health.’’
It was aimed at creating awareness about the need for citizens of the area to contribute meaningfully towards building a polyclinic project initiated by the community.
Speaking at a durbar to climax the week-long activities, the Chief of Bonakye, Nana Akwensi Besane I, said the people of Bonakye, needed a modern health facility to address the health needs of the people because the health centre provided for the people over the years, was no longer useful to the people.
According to the chief, as a result of population growth and complications associated with health delivery, the community had decided to embark on a self-help project to build a polyclinic, through contributions by the residents, and asked citizens of Bonakye to contribute meaningfully to raise adequate funds for the execution of the project.
Nana Besane I, explained that most of the times, sicknesses that were brought to the health centre, demanded that surgical operation be carried out and complications during pregnancy and delivery, among others, were referred to the Nkwanta hospital, a distance of 24 kilometres from Bonakye to Nkwanta.
He further, explained that the poor road network, particularly during the rainy season, made it more difficult to transport patients under difficult health conditions without an ambulance, hence the decision taken by the chiefs and people to mobilise resources, and built a polyclinic to address critical health needs of the people.
The chief of the community, observed that it was the responsibility of the government to provide the health facility for the people, however, it was becoming clear that the government alone could not afford to meet the development needs of the people, which made the people to initiate the self-help project.
The officer in charge of the Ghana-Togo Boarder Operations (GTBO) in the Nkwanta –South Municipality, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Augustine Dawson Amoah, had stressed the need for communities to live in peace because experience showed that whenever there was conflict in communities, terrorists normally took advantage of such negative developments to foment trouble.
Mr Amoah , therefore, asked the people of Bonakye and the people in the municipality to be vigilant and report strange people in their communities to the security agencies , saying the people in the area needed to regard the police as friends, therefore, should provide reliable information to the police to deal with criminals such as terrorists, who would try to cross the border to Ghana.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, BONAKYE
