By Opesika Tetteh Puplampu
Accra, Aug. 23, GNA-The Manya Krobo Traditional Council has launched the 2024 Ngmayem Festival, alongside a fundraising ceremony towards completing the Manya Klo Palace project at Odumase-Krobo.
The launch and fundraising event, which took place in Accra, on the theme “Homecoming: Let’s Come Back Home to Build,” will be replicated in New York in the United States of America on Saturday, August 31, 2024.
The New York edition is aimed at showcasing the rich Krobo culture and raising additional funds to augment monies realised in the Ghana fund-raising.
Mr Gilbert Nene Odjidja, the Chairman of the 2024 Ngmayem Festival Planning Committee, unveiled a grand plan to complete the palace project before the end of October 2024, ahead of this year’s festival.
Mr. Odjidja said the project, which is about 60 per cent complete, includes a residential facility for the royal family, a traditional council hall, offices, a museum, guests’ rooms, and a library, among others.
He noted that the palace would also be transformed into an enclosed royal enclave to create the needed imperial ambience.
Commissioner of Police Francis Ebenezer Doku (Rtd.), also known as Asafoatse Odjeblema Angmortey I, gave a short exposition of the theme for the celebration and urged his fellow tribe members and women living beyond the boundaries of the Krobo state, particularly those sojourning abroad, to come home and join the ongoing effort to build the Manya Klo State.
He lauded the organisers for what he described as “a progressive step” and urged the gathering to cheerfully donate in support of the beautiful initiative.
Nene Sakite II, the Konor of Manya Krobo, who doubles as the President of the Eastern Regional House of Chiefs, extolled his forebears for showing the way and casting the solid foundation upon which the current generation now builds.
He noted that the building of a modern and more befitting palace for the Manya Klo state became a necessity, and he was glad to see well-meaning Krobos and external donors responding positively to his call to come back home and build.
“This new palace remains a monument and a testament to our collective effort to forge ahead; the beauty in unity which is being displayed through these initiatives is particularly refreshing,” he noted.
Madam Eugenia Asabea Cropper, a Ghanaian highlife queen and saxophonist of international repute and a native of Manya Krobo, entertained the guests with her melodious songs, including her popular Dangme song “Wa Maa Ya Dorm,” which means “we are home bound.”
In her usual signature dressing of kente with headgear and matching beads, she delighted the dignitaries, which included the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Christian Tetteh Yohuno; Dr. Stephen Opata, Advisor to the Governor on Financial Markets, Bank of Ghana; Ambassador Peter Nyako, Director General of the Research Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Edward Atter Narh, CEO of the Narh-Bita Hospital; and the clergy, as well as members of parliament and municipal chief executives from the Krobo land.
Quality Krobo beads from Cedi Beads Industries, Odumase-Krobo, and paintings from Sharon Dede Padi of Padiki Arts were displayed at the event.
GNA