The Reconciliation Committee for the Winneba Masquerade Federation on Sunday, October 15, 2023 launched its report summarizing the findings and recommendations of a reconciliation project that examined factors militating against the unity of the Effutu people during the celebration of the Masquerade Festival held annually in the area as well as threaten the peace in the Effutu Municipality.The Committee made up mainly of Clergymen within the Municipality from May, 2023 embarked on a fact-finding mission to establish the reasons for the perennial disagreements and misunderstandings among the various groups which pose a major security threat to the community, a situation that compels the Municipal Security Committee of the Effutu Municipal Assembly to always require a Police and Military detachment to augment the number of officers available to maintain peace in the area.The superintending Bishop of the Winneba Archdiocese of the Anglican Church who chaired the Committee, Venerable Fr., Aaron Moses Kwamena Eduah, made a power-point presentation on the outcome of the fact- finding exercise involving all the relevant stakeholders of the Winneba Masquerade Festival as well as laying the pathway to peace contained in the recommendations of the committee.Reacting to the comprehensive report detailing the roadmap to the realization of peace and unity before, during and after future celebrations, the Effutu Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Alhaji Zubairu Kassim, said that it was about time all the feuding factions in the impasse gave absolute peace a chance for the beauty of the Masquerade Festival to be seen to attract tourists from other parts of the world to Winneba.The Effutu MCE decried the instances where the Assembly committed so much in resources meant for development to support the security reinforcement teams brought in to maintain peace and order during disturbances arising from disagreements by factions in the Masquerade festival. He noted that the Assembly realizes the essence of the Masquerade Festival in promoting peace and unity as well as the promotion of domestic tourism for the development of the area and the country as a whole and called on all especially the youth to observe the sanctity of the occasion which is supposed to unite the Effutu people and desist from engaging in acts of violence which threaten the peace of the area as well as take away the beauty of the celebration.Hon. Zubairu Kassim praised the work of the Committee and pledged on behalf of the Government, Member of Parliament and the Assembly to commit to the findings and recommendations spelt out in the report for sanity to prevail. Various speakers including Chiefs, the Divisional Police Commander, Opinion leaders and the Clergy called for an all-hand-on-deck approach towards preserving the festival for future generations by smoking the peace-pipe to give peace a chance and promote togetherness for the development of Effutu. All the groups involved in the organization and celebration of the annual event expressed satisfaction with the committee’s work and pledged to commit to the recommendations in the report for the beauty of the festival to be realized to continue to attract tourists and investors from all parts of the world to boost local tourism as well as help to improve the local economy to benefit the Effutu people.
STORY BY: CHARLES BAAH ABOAGYE -ISD
Last modified: October 16, 2023
