The Gwiraman Traditional Council has launched the Egila Elue Avuyia (Egila Yam Festival) 2025, with a call on the people to forget about their differences and foster peace and unity for an accelerated development.
This year’s festival, launched amidst fanfare, is on the theme “United in Purpose, Advancing in Progress: The Gwira Way Forward”.
It would be climaxed in the last week of November 2025.
As part of the celebration, the Gwira Traditional Council has placed a ban on drumming and noisemaking between October 23 and November 23.
Launching the festival at a colourful ceremony at Bamiankor in the Nzema-East Municipality, Awulae Angama-Tu Agyan, Paramount Chief of the Gwira Traditional Area and President of the Traditional Council, said Gwiraman had not celebrated the yam festival for the past 23 years after the 2001 celebration.
He said an attempt to celebrate it the ensuing year was foiled by another group.
Awulae Angama-Tu Agyan expressed wary that Gwiraman was not showcasing its rich culture, history and tradition to the outside world.
The Paramount Chief called on sons and daughters of Gwira to patronize the festival to make the area a tourist attraction to rake in more revenue to spearhead development of the area.
Awulae Angama-Tu Agyan said the area was deprived in terms of road network, school buildings and extension of electricity and would use the festival to bring national leaders together to respond to developmental needs.
Professor Francis Awuah, Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast and an indigene of Gwira, who was the Guest Speaker, said Gwira was blessed with rich human and mineral resources.
He asked the people to resolve their differences, unite and fight for the development of the area.
He said development could not thrive in an atmosphere of conflict, quarrels and urged them to safeguard the peace in the area.
Prof Awuah advised the people to use the festival as a platform to discuss challenges facing their communities and renew their commitment to building a stronger Gwira.
He mentioned the Teleku-Bokazo to Simpa Junction Road, the Teleku-Bokazo to Banso road and the Gwira-Aiyinasi to Kotukrom stretch to enhance movement within Gwira and open the area to the rest of the Ellembelle and Tarkwa area.
Obrempong Hima Denkyi XIV, Paramount Chief of Upper Dixcove, who chaired the occasion, reminded the people to unite despite their differences and push for development.
” What at all can’t the Gwiraman settle and forge ahead in unity”? he queried and advised the youth who hide behind social media to hurl insults on traditional rulers and even the President of Ghana.
He reminded the youth that, ” our culture frowns upon insults and inflammatory language” and asked them to approach the chiefs with respect to pinpoint their mistakes to them.
Mr Herbert Kuah-Dickson, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Nzema-East Municipality, urged all chiefs to involve themselves and continue to celebrate the festival without any conflict.
He said President John Dramani Mahama was committed to rural development with 80 percent of the Assembly’s Common Fund earmarked for development.
However, unity was key if any meaningful development could be executed in the area and advised the people to forget ahead in unity.
Mr Kuah-Dickson said the Assembly had reached 2.8 million Ghana cedis of the targeted GHc3.0 million Ghana cedis of its Internally Generated Funds ( IGF) for 2025 as of September.
He said last year, the Assembly realized GHc1.2 million being the highest IGF in the Nzema-East Municipality.
The MCE said the Assembly had begun grading the Gwira roads which is the main developmental challenge facing the area.
Mr Kofi Arko-Nokoe, Member of Parliament (MP) of Evaloe Ajomoro-Gwira lauded Awulae Angama-Tu Agyan for restoring the festival to showcase the rich culture, history and tradition of Gwiraman.
He also called on the people to bury their differences and forge ahead in unity and peace.
MP Arko-Nokoe said together with the MCE, he would move to the Training Colleges to assist students from Gwira and elsewhere with their education so that they come to teach in the area upon completion to stem the rampant migration of teachers to other areas.
He said together with the Assembly, the Teachers’ Awards scheme would come into force on March 6, 26, to incentivise teachers to stay in the area.
On the Gwira road network, the MP said though funds were yet to be released from central government for the Big Push initiative, he has teamed up with the MCE to use the DRIP machines to reshape major roads in the area.
Mr Arko-Nokoe assured the people that the road from Teleku-Bokazo to Simpa Junction would be asphalted in due course.
The MP mentioned the construction of a police station at Kutukrom, construction of school buildings as well as fixing the bridge leading to Kutukrom.
He said the Gwiraman Senior High School was grinding to a halt and called on the government to turn its attention to the school.
Mr Arko-Nokoe expressed grave concerns about malmsey and its debilitating effects on the people and to embrace the Responsible Cooperative Mining scheme.