By Alex Boye
Gbetsoolo Nii Ashitey Akomfra III, Teshie Mantse has officially sworn the Oath of Office at a Grand Durbar of Chiefs and people of Teshie, in Accra.
This followed the official declaration as the substantive Teshie Mantse by the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs on Tuesday 9th July, 2019.
The Swearing ceremony which took place at Teshie Mandzaanor last Thursday attracted hundreds of people; including senior police officers as well as government officials during the media launch of 2019 Teshie Homowo Festival celebration, slated for August.
In attendance were Services Commences and Senior Police Officers and Government Officials.
In his delivery at the event, the chief called on the entire Teshie populace to ensure that this year’s festival is made more peaceful than last year.
Teshie Homowo festival, the chief said, is a commemorative season of love, togetherness and merry-making after an extended period of famine among the Ga people during their migration to the Accra plains decades ago.
“The only way Teshie can experience total development is when we are united as people and I therefore calling on everyone to embrace unity towards the growth of the area” the chief noted.
The further noted that he and his elders have planned to later this year launch a GH¢500,000 social intervention project called Akro Foundation to cater for the training and development of the brilliant but needy younger generations with bias for the development , promotion and preservation of their indigenous Gadangbe mother tongues.
“Three years ago I set myself an uphill task of reversing this downward trend by rebranding the Teshie Homowo festival in order to develop a new corporate image for Teshie. Today, I am proud to announce that thanks to this innovative strategy Teshie has celebrated subsequent Homowo festivals in absolute peace and tranquility” he stated.
The chief also said his palace has a value for change planning model to address the persistent challenges of ambush marketing and the Teshie Homowo 2019 social intervention programs by naming them after distinguished individual or corporate personalities.
For his part, Nii Ashiekwei Kwaobotwe II, Teshie Dzasetse, assured that the 2019 Homowo festival shall be the most peaceful and enjoyable witnessed in the history of the area and called on those in the diaspora as well as the entire Ghanaian populace to join the celebration.
The Dzasetse intimated that several activities such as worshiping of sea deities, ban on deep-sea fishing(departure, arrival), Teshie villages yam festival, unity walk, ban on drumming and noise- making, Homowo clean-up exercise, health screening, home coming, sprinkling of Kpokpoi, grand family re-union(Ngoo Wala), Gbetsoolo one-on-one, Homowo football harvest, Teshie street carnival(Kpafaa), among other vital activities.
