By Jones Anlimah
The Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare, has joined the Chiefs and People of Ziavi in the Volta region’s Ho Municipality to celebrate the annual Avazorli festival.
As part of the celebration, Mrs. Frema Osei-Opare cut sod for the commencement of construction works on a staff accommodation for health staff at the Ziavi health facility in the community. The chiefs and people of the area want to use this year’s festival as a rallying point to mobilize resources to upgrade the health facility to polyclinic status.
Aʋazɔlî Festival which literally means “war journey,” is celebrated by seven member communities, including Ziavi in the Ho municipality of the Volta region, on a rotational basis. The communities are Botoku, Mepe, Kpedze-Todze, Etordome, Kpando-Anyigbe, and Ando, all in the Volta Region.
The Avazorli Union is made up of seven communities that migrated together from Notsie in present-day Togo to escape the brutal rule of tyrant King Agorkoli.Apart from honouring their ancestors for their bravery, the festival has been a rallying point to generate funds and mobilize resources to invest in infrastructural development in the areas of education, health, recreational centres and economic ventures in member communities since 1987.
The theme for this year’s festival, which also marks the 11th anniversary of its celebration, was “Enhancing Health Infrastructure for Healthy Development of Ziavi and Avazɔliawo”.
The Fiaga of Ziavi, Togbe Kwaku Ayim appealed to government to support the realisation of the project and to construct some critical roads in the area. Togbe Ayim, who is also the President of the Ziavi Traditional Council, also appealed to the government to complete a 12-unit classroom block by GETFUND, which has been abandoned at the Ziavi Senior High Technical School, to increase student intake.
The Chief of Staff, Frema Osei-Opare, who was the special guest, touted the government’s Agenda 111 project as one major infrastructural improvement in health to ensure quality and equitable health-care delivery in the country.
“Upon successful completion of Agenda 111 projects, all districts in Ghana will be in a position to boast of the provision of a health care infrastructure in line with government’s commitment to ensuring universal healthcare to all citizens in the attainment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3,” She added.
The Chief of Staff also presented four laptops to the Ziavi Senior High Technical School to help them in their research and cut sod for the commencement of construction works on the accommodation project. She also donated an amount of ¢50,000 towards the realisation of the project.