The Chiefs and people of the Agotime Traditional Area in the Agotime-Ziope District, joined by sister communities from Togo, have celebrated the 30th Kente Festival with renewed calls for unity, cultural preservation and accelerated development.
This year’s festival, held on Saturday at Kpetoe, was themed: “Woven Together: Kente, Agortime’s Creative Gift to the World.”
The colourful event attracted government officials, traditional leaders, tourists, and dignitaries from Ghana and abroad.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr Alex Segbefia, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Vice President and Guest of Honour, announced that government would allocate $2 billion annually under the “Big Push Agenda” over the next five years, to accelerate infrastructural development nationwide.
Priority areas, he said, would include education, healthcare, and transportation to boost productivity and attract investment.
He assured the people that roads linking Ho to Tokor through Kpetoe would be upgraded to support tourism, strengthen the Kente industry and draw investors.
The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, in her remarks, highlighted the global recognition of Kente as a UNESCO-listed cultural heritage.
She pledged government’s commitment to developing the Agotime Kente Village into a world-class tourist attraction.
The Volta Regional Minister, Mr James Gunu, commended the people of Agotime for sustaining their cultural identity through Kente weaving over three decades.
He encouraged weavers to take advantage of growing international demand, stressing that “every cloth produced here carries the soul of Agortime, woven carefully by generations.”
Mr Gunu also outlined ongoing projects under the 2025 Big Push Road Infrastructure Programme, including the rehabilitation of the Ho–Kpetoe, Kpetoe–Afiadenyigba and Penyi–Aflao roads.
He further announced the rehabilitation of the Kpetoe Water Treatment Plant, scheduled for completion within three months and the extension of potable water under the 5-District Water Supply Project from Adidome, through Adaklu Waya to Kpetoe.
Nene Nuer Keteku IV, Konor of the Agotime Traditional Area and President of the Agotime Traditional Council, described the festival theme as a timely call to unity and innovation in sustaining the Kente heritage.
He appealed to the government to complete stalled projects such as the Kente Village Project, the College of Education in Agotime and the Afegame ICT Centre, while also rehabilitating key infrastructure including roads, bridges and water systems.
He lamented persistent water challenges in the area, noting that seasonal drying of local rivers forces women and children to trek long distances in search of water, with dire consequences for health and livelihoods.
He also called for urgent repairs to the old Tordzie River bridge, describing it as a growing safety hazard.
“Without a sense of history, we are like a zebra without its stripes. Our heritage, when combined with education and innovation, is the key to our survival and prosperity,” he declared.
The festival was climaxed with a grand durbar of chiefs, cultural performances and colourful displays of Kente, reinforcing Agotime’s reputation as not only the home of Ghana’s most treasured cloth, but also a centre of cultural tourism, innovation and development.
From Michael Foli Jackidy, Agortime
GNA
