AI-Summary – News For Tomorrow
At the Klefe Yam Festival, Paramount Chief Togbe Koku Dzaga XI urgently called for environmental protection to prevent devastating consequences, citing deforestation, illegal mining, and poor waste management as major threats to livelihoods and food security. He urged sustainable practices and waste disposal, emphasizing the environment’s link to agriculture, health, and prosperity. The festival, themed “Youth Development,” also focused on education and skills training, encouraging youth to pursue technical training and avoid substance abuse. Togbe Dzaga appealed for prioritizing education over social events and highlighted the Klefe Technical Institute’s importance, requesting support for its development.
News summary provided by Gemini AI.
The Paramount Chief of the Klefe Traditional Area, Togbe Koku Dzaga XI, has urged his people and all Ghanaians to confront environmental degradation as a matter of survival, warning that failure to act now will have devastating consequences for future generations.
Addressing the grand durbar of the 2025 Klefe Yam Festival and Fundraising Ceremony on September 27, Togbe Dzaga said deforestation, bush burning, illegal mining, and poor waste management were eroding the community’s livelihood base and threatening food security.
“We must treat these issues not as distant concerns but as urgent threats to our survival,” he said. “We are witnessing lower crop yields, declining fish stocks, rising health risks, and unpredictable weather patterns, all fuelled by uncontrolled human activities. Nobody cheats nature. If we do not act now, Mother Nature will give us a reaction we would not like.”
He urged residents to end destructive practices and embrace sustainable farming and waste disposal, stressing that protecting the environment was critical to agriculture, public health, and long-term prosperity.
This year’s festival, celebrated under the theme “Youth Development – The Future of Our Community”, also focused on education and skills training. Togbe Dzaga challenged the youth to stay away from substance abuse and embrace technical and vocational training. “Your time is now. Avoid the distractions of substance abuse and social vices. Invest in yourselves. Enrol in the technical institute. Equip yourselves for the future,” he advised.
The paramount chief appealed to parents to prioritise education over social ceremonies, adding: “Your child’s education is a communal investment. Prioritise it. Let us not trade books for funeral clothes. No child should be seen at the mining pit during school hours; every child must be in school taking their studies seriously.”
Togbe Dzaga described the Klefe Technical Institute as central to addressing youth unemployment and entrepreneurship but highlighted pressing challenges, including inadequate dormitories, classrooms, workshops, and training tools. He appealed to GETFund and other agencies to provide an administration block, library, ICT centre, dining hall, and a school bus.
On environmental concerns, Dr. Segbefia said the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation would partner with the Klefe Traditional Council to introduce sustainable practices to combat deforestation, illegal mining, and pollution.
“The government is committed to working with you to protect our environment,” he said. “Environmental sustainability is not just about preserving nature; it is about safeguarding the livelihoods and health of our people.”
The festival drew chiefs, government officials, and dignitaries, with support from institutions including the Bank of Ghana, SSNIT, SIC, ECG, Ghana Water, SkyPlus Hotel, Volta Serene, and several media houses.
Togbe Dzaga closed with a rallying call: “Let this durbar not just be a celebration of harvest, but a commitment to development. Let us walk out of here ready to act, to give, and to build.”
