Agotime-Ziope Holds Durbar to Climax Agbleza

By Alberto Mario Noretti

Ziope — THE Agotime-Ziope District Assembly will continue to commit massive resources towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as part of its priority efforts to boost the local economy, the DCE, Mr D. D. Dzorkpe, has assured.

Already, he said that the assembly has constructed 15 boreholes in some of the communities and also poised to construct more of them in other communities to provide potable water to the people, "thus, ensuring that Goal Six of the SDG is achieved."

Mr Dzorkpe was speaking at a durbar at Ziope a fortnight ago to climax this year's Agbleza (Farm Festival) of the Ziope Traditional Area.

The celebration was under the theme: Farming for food and jobs in a healthy community.

He said that the assembly would also construct a mini-market soon at Akpokofe, five lockable stores at the Ziope Market, and put up a new market at Keyime.

Meanwhile, the DCE said, the Planting for Food and Jobs programme had been boosted with a large supply of fertilisers, seeds and other inputs at subsidised prices to farmers in the area.

On the long issue of the need for a tomato processing plant in the district, Mr Dzorkpe said that the assembly was looking forward to wooing investors to provide the facility to serve the best interest of the local population and the nation.

In other development areas, the DCE announced that the government had provided the Ziope Senior High School (SHS) with a store and a kitchen, while the assembly's efforts to provide the Ziope SHS and Agotime SHS were nearing completion.

He commended the Ziope and Agotime traditional authorities for upholding the peace and projecting the vast development potential of the district through their festivals-Agbamevorza (kente festival) and Agbleza, which he said were gaining significant international recognition.

Earlier, the Paramount Chief, Togbui Bina Lawluvi, said that Agbleza was instituted in 2011 to promote unity among the people and champion the development agenda of the area, in addition to showcasing its rich culture.

He said that a lot of success had been chalked in that regard and cited the local health facility as a monumental testimony to those efforts.

Furthermore, he said that a residential accommodation project was underway to house key health personnel at the Ziope Clinic.

Togbui Lawluvi recalled that during the 2015 Agbleza celebration, former President Mahama declared the Ziope Traditional Area as Vegetable Production Zone in recognition of the tremendous efforts of the farmers and their potentials to produce tomatoes, okro, garden eggs, pepper and other vegetables to satisfy domestic consumption and possibly for export.

However, he said that repeated pleas to government to provide the basic facilities to enable the farmers to optimise their output, "government is yet to come to our assistance."

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