Ve-Deme (V/R), Oct 11, GNA-Mr Joseph Yieleh Chireh, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, at the weekend said government would review the decentralization concept for conformity and effectiveness, in line with its campaign promises. He said the review is expected to induce accelerated decentralization, deepen democracy and facilitate local level governance, development and empowerment which have been necessitated by over 20 years of experimentation.

Mr. Chireh disclosed this at a durbar of chiefs and people of Ve Traditional Area to climax the nine-day Ve-Lukusi Dodoleglimeza 2009 at Ve-Deme in the Hohoe Municipality. The occasion which coincided with the silver jubilee anniversary and enthronement of Togbega Delume VII, Paramount Chief of Ve Traditional Area, was under the theme: "Traditional Authority and Local Government-Partners in Development".

He said the review processes which would entail consultations at the district, regional and national levels with major actors and interested groups would kick-start with the National House of Chiefs soon. Mr. Chireh called on Ghanaians especially, the traditional authority to participate fully in the exercise through proposals, memos, scripts, documentaries since the integration of the roles of chiefs and queens could be stepped up for effective decentralisation ad local governance. He commended the people for maintaining and sustaining the peace," a fulcrum around which development churns", pledging the Ministry's willingness to partner them.

The Minister suggested that the National Planning Committee instituted lectures as part of subsequent festivals to educate and inform the youth on the historical antecedents of the celebration and devise innovations and strategies to place the annual event on the tourism map of the country for local and foreign consumption.

Mr. Joseph Z. Amenowode, Volta Regional Minister told the people that "voting massively for the National Democratic Congress (NDC) was like winning a lottery" reassuring that government would deliver on its campaign promises to the letter. He said the "winning numbers were the reconstruction of the Asikuma-Hohoe-Nkwanta-Damanko road network and a University of Health and Allied Science in Ho with campuses in Hohoe Municipality". Mr. Victor-Hermann Condobrey, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive, pledged to deliver on all promises made by his predecessor to the traditional area and assured to partner with chiefs and queens for enhanced development. Dr. Feller Adoboe, President of Ve-Lukusi Improvement Society (VELIS), said under the tutelage of Togbega Delume, VELIS chalked some gains by constructing a GHc 200,000 community clinic, provision of potable water to communities and funded the education of brilliant but underprivileged students. He said the annual festival is a platform instituted to harness the human and material resources of the area for accelerated socio-economic development, debunking certain notions that the Lukusi festival was fetish. Dr. Adoboe appealed to the people to make available their experiences and expertise and honour their financial contribution to the development fund. Togbega Delume said the next 25 years should be an era of socio-economic advancement, wealth creation, and eradication of diseases, squalor and ignorance by setting achievable targets. He was optimistic of surmounting the developmental challenges of providing potable water to all towns in the traditional area, improve on the infrastructural deficiency at the Ve Technical and Senior High School and complete the palace project. Togbega Delume thanked his subjects for their support and urged them to consolidate the peace. Togbe Akoto VIII, Miamefia of Ve recounting history said the festival was instituted to commemorate the migration of the Ewes from the tyrannical and oppressive rule of King Agorkoli, from present day Republic of Togo in the 16th Century.