Sokode-Etoe, Jan. 8, GNA - The Sokode Traditional Area in the Volta Region has linked up with a History Professor of the Elon University, North Carolina, in the United States, to help speed up development of the area.

As part of the arrangement, Professor Brian Degree, whose association with the area started in 1999, would source for help from benevolent organisations in the US as well as mobilise citizens of the area to support programmes to be undertaken.

Prof Degree has so far donated about 20 million cedis towards the improvement of facilities at the local Community Secondary/Technical School.

Prof Degree, 50, who has visited the Volta Region every year for the past four years with students from the Elon University, was installed Development Chief of the area under the stool name Togbe Kwaku Dake at a durbar at Sokode-Etoe on Wednesday.

After swearing an oath of allegiance to Togbe Fia Koku III, Paramount Chief of the Sokode Traditional Area, he pledged to promote development objectives of the area.

Togbe Koku appealed to citizens of the area to contribute to an education fund and pledged a personal donation of 1 million cedis. Captain George Nfodjo, a former District Chief Executive of Ho, said he met Prof Degree and a group of students in Accra in 1999 and sold the tourism potentials of the Volta Region to them. He said since then Prof Degree had religiously brought different groups of students from the Elon University to the region every January to savour the tourist spots.

The current group of 29 is made up of 27 students and two lecturers.