The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA), Akosua Manu, has paid courtesy calls on some of the Chiefs in the Ga Traditional Council ahead of the 2023 Homowo Festival in the Greater Accra Region.
The move was to seek their support, and blessings and also to announce her ambition to the chiefs to become a Parliamentary candidate on the ticket of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for Adentan Constituency after filing the nomination forms to contest the upcoming parliamentary primary.
Accompanied by some of the party delegates, she used the opportunity to donate some items to the chiefs at the various communities visited.
In a brief remark, she started with the usual Homowo greetings of ‘Afi oo afi’ before explaining the purpose of her visit; to pay homage to the chiefs.
The Aspiring NPP Parliamentary candidate for Adenta noted that government would promote an agenda that would be beneficial to the whole of the country and ensure greater national inclusiveness.
She further encouraged the traditional leaders to keep up with the good initiatives being undertaken in the area by the Akufo-Addo-led government, with a pledge to be a partner in that regard.
The chiefs also used the occasion to seek blessings, good health, and prosperity from the ancestors for her on her political journey.
The Ga people celebrate Homowo which is translated as ‘hooting at hunger’ in remembrance of a devastating famine arising from a drought that occurred in their history in precolonial Ghana. The festival starts in August with the planting of crops (mainly maize and yam) before the rainy season starts.
During this period, noise-making is prohibited or banned since it is believed that it will hinder the maturity of the crops.
Though it is a Ga traditional festival, many other ethnic groups also partake in the celebrations.