Nana Kodwo Kondua VI has criticized the government’s failure to pay royalties to the Edena Traditional Area, having generated income from tourism activities. He likened the government’s attitude to a tenant mango farmer, who plucks the ripe mangoes for sale but refuses to pay rent to the landlord.
In light of this, he has pleaded with the government to regularize paying the traditional council its share of the profits realized from forts and castles in the town. Nana Kodwo Kondua made the call in his welcome address at the Emancipation event dubbed “Meet and Greet with the Elmina Traditional Council”.
Historically, Elmina was the first community that had contact with the European Sailor, Don Diago de Azambuja in 1471 before building the castle, in 1482. The departure of the Portuguese offered an opportunity for the people of Elmina to have contact with other Europeans like the Dutch and British. These contacts with the Europeans epitomize the fact that the community can never be left out in the infamous slave trade that was abolished some centuries ago.
This and other reasons led to the choice of Elmina for this year’s Emancipation celebration. The day’s event started with an exquisite cultural display by a cultural troupe in the town. This display electrified some African descent and the staff of the Ghana Tourism Authority by dancing to the drums and songs of the cultural troupe.
The Paramount chief of the Edena traditional council, Nana Kodwo Kondua VI, thanked the Ministry of Tourism and the Ghana Tourism Authority for the day’s ceremony saying Ghana’s history cannot be complete without Elmina.
Nana Kodwo Kondua then touched on how the community is denied the royalty from the Elmina Castle. He was sad to note that he had reiterated the need for the community to be given its share of the profit realized from the castle and the fort, on account that, the community had its business activities happening on the said pieces of land on which the forts and castles were later built after the Europeans evicted the original occupants.
He said rituals are performed annually for the deities to secure the land and boost the economic activities in the community, yet, the Edena traditional council zilch appreciation. He therefore pleaded with the government through the Ghana Tourism Authority to heed the request so as not to incur the wrath of both the community and the 77 divinities of the community.
He then welcomed the African descendants present into the continent with a traditional symbol and traditional food known as Otoh and egg, urging them never to see themselves as foreigners.
The Deputy CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Ekow Sampson, thanked the Edena traditional council for the warm reception and pledged the commitment of the GTA to ensure the needed support is given to the traditional council. He used the occasion to plead with the citizenry to fend off all forms of slavery.
A 44-year-old African descent from the USA, Sarah who prefers to be called Esi, disclosed how happy she felt to have found her roots in the continent. She asked her fellow Africans in the Diaspora to come back and contribute to the development of the African continent.
