Accra: The Chiefs and people of Agona Nyakrom, the paramount seat of Agonaman, have launched the 2025 Akwambo festival with a call on citizens home and abroad to contribute to the development of the town.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Tufuhene of Agona Nyakrom Traditional Area, Oteatuoso Osei Bonsu III, announced that the 2025 Festival would stand out because of numerous innovative programs aimed at raising sufficient funds to complete projects at the health center. As the chairman of the 2025 Planning Committee, the Tufuhene emphasized that the festival is not merely about celebration but also a time to reflect on and assess past and present circumstances to foster the town’s development.
Nana Osei Bonsu urged citizens to fulfill their annual contributions, enabling the Planning Committee to complete the construction of male and female wards at the Nyakrom Healthcare Centre. The week-long celebration will include a clean-up exercise on Saturday, August 2, a health walk with Omanhene, parades by Dentse Asafo Company, Tuafo Asafo Company, and Akonfode Asafo Company, as well as a Captains Marathon.
Additional activities will feature donations by the Nkabom Club, an inter-schools quiz competition, inter-community soccer matches, and a local dishes cooking competition. The festivities will culminate with an orange street carnival and a parade of the Omahene and his chiefs through Nyakrom streets to the durbar grounds on Wednesday, August 9.
Nana Osei Bonsu highlighted the rebranding of the festival, which will include performances by renowned hiplife artists to entertain attendees on Sunday after an inter-denominational church service at Vitoria Park. He called on petty traders, churches, and Civil Society Organizations to pay their annual fees to enhance the festival’s appeal.
The Tufuhene also appealed to the government to reinstate the powers vested in chiefs to sanction or discipline disobedient citizens, noting that some youth have become disrespectful due to a Supreme Court ruling that stripped chiefs of such authority. He urged the government to take action to restore these powers.
Mr. Kwesi Adoko Blankson, a retired banker and co-chairman of the Planning Committee, echoed the appeal for respect for the elderly, urging the youth to uphold this value. He also advised the chiefs not to sell land at high prices, allowing citizens both abroad and at home to afford to build and visit regularly.
Mr. Adoko Blankson reiterated the importance of paying Akwambo festival contributions to support the health center’s construction, emphasizing that government efforts alone are insufficient to provide the necessary infrastructure for quality healthcare delivery.