Addressing the chiefs and people of Wangara Community in Kintampo, at their annual Kurubi Festival, Mrs Mahama said as Ghana prepared to go to the polls in a few weeks, it was important to promote peaceful coexistence.

“Peace is a necessary ingredient for development and prosperity,” she said. “Where there is peace, people engage in economic activities without obstruction and they can raise their living standards by working hard. Also, the Government needs peace in the land to continue rolling out its agenda for transformation.”

The theme for the festival was: “Peaceful co-existence, the panacea to sustainable development".  Mrs Mahama, therefore, advised the youth to avoid all activities that would endanger the peace of the country, saying, “Don’t allow yourselves to be used by politicians to cause trouble”.

She also advised the youth to be patient, disciplined, diligent, and hardworking and respect their chiefs and elders. The Kurubi festival is used to re-enact the history of the Wangara people who are predominantly Muslims. The festival is, therefore, celebrated to commemorate the descending of the first verse of the Holy Qur’an (96:1-5) to the Prophet Muhammad in the 27th night of the month of Ramadan.

The highlight of the festival marks the Wangara Community’s allegiance to the traditional paramountcy of Kintampo.  The First Lady, who is a native of Kintampo, said with her husband, President Mahama also being a native of Bole, they both had strong links with the Wangara people, who as mainly as Gonjas, had preserved a valuable part of their tradition.

She described the atmosphere of the Kurubi as “second to none, a festival which is a distinct component of Wangara culture.”  She said apart from the people’s hospitality and skills in commerce, as well as being pioneers in Islamic scholarship, the Wangara festival had become one of the most recognised traditional events on Ghana’s cultural calendar.

Over the years, she said, the Kurubi Festival had not only been a vibrant cultural exposition of time-honoured rituals, music and dances, but also been a major platform for the socio-economic emancipation of the Wangara people and Ghanaians, at large. The First Lady said the festival for some time now had promoted the huge potential of cultural and eco-tourism in the Kintampo North Municipality and had attracted public and private investments, including the opening of a reception centre at the Kintampo Waterfall.

The Kurubi Festival, with the support of the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts, had also become a key part of the World Tourism Day. Mrs Mahama expressed the Government’s commitment to improving the tourism sector of the country, since tourism was currently a significant contributor to national economic growth, with the potential to overtake some traditional export commodities in the near future.

She said the Government had completed a 15-year Tourism Development Plan, which it intended to implement in its next term of office.  A Provident Fund is also to be set up for ageing artistes to receive a modest monthly stipend so they did not live in poverty, she announced.    She said the Government was also looking at was the redesigning and upgrading of the Efua Sutherland Park to be a real entertainment and amusement centre for children and their parents.

 Alhaji Nana Yusef Fanyinama III, the President of the Council of Wangara in Ghana, entreated political leaders to preach to their supporters so they would also follow peace.“Peace is a priceless commodity that must be cherished by all and sundry,” he said. “Ghana is the only country that we have and it must be protected for every Ghanaian.”   Alhaji Fanyinama III, however, commended the Government “for the wonderful support to the Kintampo Municipality in the areas of town roads construction, provision of electricity with street and traffic lights, schools and other major development.”

Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, said the Ministry would continue to promote the Kurubi Festival to the international level to attract foreigners.

On the First Lady’s entourage were the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, and Ms Felicia Adjei, NDC Parliamentary Candidate of Kintampo South.