President Akufo-Addo’s two-day working tour of the Volta region took off to a not so stellar start today at Adaklu, where he was given a half-hearted reception by the chiefs and people there.
In addition to the fact that some notable chiefs in the area kept their distance from the President, those who attended carried an air of formality about them, indicating they were just going through the motions.
WhatsUp News understands that the reasons for the lukewarm reception are manifold, but that President Akufo-Addo’s refusal to fire the District Chief Executive for the area was one of the main ones.
Mr. Phanuel Kadey Donkor has long been accused by the Adaklu Traditional Council of gross disrespect and open malice against the chiefs.
On the 29th of July, the Traditional Council, led by Togbe Gbogbi Atsa V called on President Akufo-Addo to fire him, but the President has since snubbed the chiefs and allowed the DCE to stay on in spite of the chiefs’ discomfort with him, hence the half-hearted reception accorded him today.
Another issue that has annoyed the chiefs of the Adaklu traditional area, WhatsUp News understands, is the bad state of their roads. The chiefs and people there have complained that successive governments have ignored the roads of Adaklu which are in hardly motorable conditions. Residents say nothing concrete has come from the Akufo Addo administration to address the situation.
The President’s day had started with a closed-door meeting with the Volta regional Security Council in Ho, the Volta regional capital, before dashing down to Adaklu, where he stopped over at the GHL Farm to inspect infrastructure.
From Adaklu, the President’s convoy headed to Akatsi to attend the 30th anniversary of the Akatsi District Assembly.
From there the President left to Aflao, his last stop for the day on his two-day visit, to attend a durbar of the chiefs and people there.
According to an itinerary that has been published by the Ministry of Information, tomorrow, Tuesday the 6th of November, the President will interact with students and tutors of selected senior High Schools in Ho and Vakpo. He will also attend durbars in Dzelukope and Kpeve, and then commission a dormitory block for the Vakpo senior high school. He is also expected to visit the Volta Star Textiles Limited and lay a foundation stone for the railway project which is now being expanded to some other parts of that enclave.