Togbuiga Delume VII, Paramount Chief of Ve Traditional Area in the Afadzato South District of the Volta Region has said ensuring security and public safety were key elements in attracting foreign and local tourists to communities.

He said for a community to benefit fully from tourism, it must provide a cordial atmosphere, which offered tourists the needed comfort to explore tourists’ sites.

Togbuiga Delume said this in a speech read on his behalf at a durbar of chiefs, queen mothers and people of the Ve Traditional Area to climax the 2019 Ve Lukusi Dodoleglimeza which was on the theme; Security and Public Safety: A must for Sustainable Development.

“The need for security and safety cannot be over-emphasized. Peace and safety is necessary not only for ourselves but for visitors who may want to come exploring,” he stated.

Togbuiga Delume said security and public safety must be a coordinated effort between government and the citizenry, but government had the larger responsibility, and pledged the contribution of the Ve traditional area’s quota to the effort.

The Paramount Chief noted that the desire for economic and financial development had caused many people to live in fear or envy for one another, which ‘invariably’ bred conflict.

He said as people developed both economically and technologically, minor disputes, misunderstandings and ‘negative elements’ also gain prominence, which ought to be watched.

“All of a sudden, people now realise the value of land, the need to hold titles, and the desire to own something more. At the same time, those who are making little money are beginning to worry about the best ways to keep it safe or to prevent theft,” Togbuiga Delume said.

He therefore admonished the citizenry to coexist peacefully in order to promote peace and harmony.


The Paramount Chief called on the government to work on the Eastern Corridor road, which he said, constituted "the largest threat to public safety" to the people on the stretch.

“Our road must be placed on the priority list of roads requiring attention. The road has become deterrent even for the most adventurous tourists and is virtually un-motorable in some areas. This makes it possible for the robbery of passengers since at those points they become sitting ducks,” he stated.

Togbuiga Delume commended the District’s Police Service for their "invaluable" service in tackling wayward and deviant youth whose actions sought to disturb peace in the area, and called on the youth to respect authority, ensure peace prevailed, and place the welfare and development of the area first.

Mr James Etornam Flolu, the Afadzato South District Chief Executive (DCE), said the Assembly would help ensure that the community enjoyed the needed peace for its economy to thrive.

He said government’s flagship programmes had led to the alleviation of poverty and provision of equal opportunities to all and called for support for government devoid of "political fanatism."

The DCE noted that the Free Senior High School policy had led to about 200 to 300 per cent increment in enrolment into the various Senior High Schools (SHSs) in the District.

He said the District was opened to individuals for entrepreneurial ideas and revealed that the winner of the Miss Lukusi pageantry would be made the tourism ambassador for the District.

Professor I.J. Kwame Aboh, President of Ve Lukusi Improvement Society (VELIS), called on all indigenes of the area to work towards the development of the area.

The Ve Lukusi Dodoleglimeza is celebrated annually to commemorate the escape of the Veawo as Lukusiawo (the people who opened the wall for all to escape) from King Agorkorli, which earned them the present name, Ve Lukusiawo.