With only hours to the climax of Ghana’s 67th Independence Day Anniversary, the festive atmosphere in Koforidua, the Eastern Regional capital, has spurred excitement for a memorable celebration.
Many of the residents see the occasion as an opportunity to showcase the rich cultural diversity, the people’s history, and the socioeconomic potential of one of Ghana’s serene urban areas.
Indeed, the stakes are high, given the Region’s crucial role in securing Ghana’s independence in 1957.
The region has most of the ‘Big Six’ icons who helped lead the country to independence.
Koforidua, founded in 1875, is noted for its tropical forests, cascading waterfalls, tourist attractions, and beautiful landscape.
Ahead of the anniversary celebration, the town has been adorned with the country’s red, yellow, and green flags at every visible corner, flying proudly in the bustling streets.
When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the Koforidua Youth Resource Center on Tuesday, the venue for the anniversary programme, the place was decorated with national flags, memorable portraits of liberation fighters, and other historical scenes from the struggle for independence.
A team from Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste collection and management company, was also busy finishing preparations.
According to Faustina Shardey, the company’s Regional Coordinator, the authorities fumigated the entire Centre to help tidy it up.
On security, the National Security Council was also taking precautions to ensure public safety, with police personnel deployed at every vantage point.
The Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS) was also at work, bringing on board an array of fire tenders specifically for the programme.
Some traders were observed selling event paraphernalia and other souvenirs to enhance their livelihoods.
“It is a dream come true that we are hosting the national event of our independence anniversary, because the Region played no mean a role in advancing the nation’s cause for self-rule,” Baba Musa Mohammed, a Muslim cleric, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA), in an interview.
He lauded the government for its rotational policy in hosting the independence celebration and hoped that the Region would not disappoint.
Many schoolteachers, pupils, and students visited the Centre to feel the impending occasion.
In an interview, they expressed optimism about the Region’s hosting of the event.