Agona Duakwa (C/R), May 20, GNA - The Agona Duakwa Youth Brass Band has been inaugurated with a call on stakeholders and prominent personalities in the town and beyond to assist in the development of musical talents across the nation. Mr Mac Tonto, a renowned Ghanaian musician of Osibisa fame, said the training of the youth should be the collective responsibility of all and the development of brass band music should be prioritised. He urged the people in the area to pool their resources to sustain the newly formed youth brass band in the area and make it beacon of national pride.

Mr Tonto commended Professor Kwesi Yankah, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, and Mr Ben Mensah, former Municipal Chief Executive of Agona West Assembly, both citizens of Duakwa, for their initiative and commitment towards the formation of the band to train the youth.

Prof Yankah and Mr Mensah in a brief joint statement about the Agona Duakwa Brass Band, said it was meant to rekindle brass band music, which reached its peak between 1960 and 1980. Prof Yankah noted that the Agona area of the Central Region was once the treasure bed of brass band music in Ghana. He stated that the emphasis on the youth this time was meant to ensure the continuity and sustenance of the musical tradition from one generation to another.

According to Prof Yankah, the band was made up of youths between the ages of 12 and 16, selected from various Primary and Junior High Schools at Duakwa. It comprises five girls and 15 boys. Mr Isaac Osei, Member of Parliament for Subin in the Ashanti Region and a former Chief Executive of Ghana COCOBOD, urged people to give prominence to the beautiful Ghanaian culture to enable it to become a good legacy for the youth.

He urged the elite and well-to-do- people in the area to remember where they hailed from and always endeavour to support development projects to raise the living standards of the inhabitants. Mr Osei also praised Prof Yankah and Mr Mensah for their initiative and urged others in the town to emulate them. Mr Kojo Yankah, a former Ashanti Regional Minister in the first National Democratic Congress (NDC) administration, said the politics was over and asked the people to stop antagonising each other to facilitate peace and development. He announced that a scholarship scheme would be instituted for the brass band members who would get better grades at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE).