Regional News of Monday, 17 January 2005

Source: GNA

Chief advises youth associations to promote developments

Kumasi, Jan 17, GNA- Members of the youth associations have been advised against the tendency using the association as avenues for either instigating or promoting communal conflicts in society.

Chief Azumah Ndagu, head of the Kusasi community in the Ashanti region, said using youth associations as platforms for fuelling conflicts would amount to undermining the objectives of such associations since they are formed to promote unity and development.

Chief Ndagu gave the advice when he addressed the annual get-together and fund-raising of the Ashanti region branch of the Kusasi Youth Association in Kumasi on Sunday.

He reminded Kusasi youth who have travelled down south from their hometowns to always bear in mind the under-development and poverty levels back home and commit themselves to sending a good percentage of their resources to assist their parents back home.

Chief Ndagu said even though they have their own customs to protect, it is also incumbent on them to respect the customs and norms of their hosts.

Mr Nicholas Awinba Agbango, secretary of the association, said they are highly concerned about developments in the Bawku area and for that matter the association had embarked on a programme for mobilisation of financial and material resources in support of developments back home.

He said as a first step, the association together with heads of the Kusasi communities in the Ashanti region contributed 4.5 million cedis into the Bawku-Naba Endowment Fund last year.

Mr Agbango said the association views education as crucial to the development and progress of the Bawku area and has therefore drawn up plans to tour various communities in the region where Kusasis reside to educate them on the need to send their children to school.