Ave-Havi (Volta Region) 7 April '99

Communities which spend time and resources on conflicts and disputes would be left behind in terms of development, Alhaji Seidu Iddi, Volta Regional Minister, has cautioned. The government is pre-occupied with the task of development and that scarce resources cannot be used on resolution of conflicts, he said. At a durbar to mark the maiden celebration of the Ave "Bliza" (corn) festival) of the Ave traditional area under the theme "Unity, Peace and Development", the minister, appealed to the people to minimise their land and chieftaincy disputes and spend their limited resources on positive things that can bring qualitative change to their lives. He commended the people for organising the festival and asked them to use the occasion to promote peace and foster development. The occasion was also used to launch a 50 million-cedi educational endowment fund to develop infrastructure and improve on the quality of education in the area. Mr Eddie Doe-Adjaho, member of parliament for Avenor, who launched the fund, called for the establishment of a board of trustees to manage the fund for the benefit of the people. He pledged 500,000 cedis to the fund and an additional five million cedis from his constituency fund if the initial amount is used well.