The Vagla Youth Association (VAYA) has held its biennial congress in Bole in the Savannah Region under the theme: “Peaceful co-existence, youths as agents of development”, on Tuesday 30th December 2025.
The Chairman of the occasion, Vaglikoori of Tuna, Jira Danchargu Mwangu, speaking at the congress, expressed his appreciation as the person selected as the chairman of the occasion.
The Chairman recounted that the aim of the congress is to find ways to live a peaceful coexistence in spite of our diversities and differences in society, and that is the main purpose.
On behalf of President H.E. John Dramani Mahama, delivering a speech at the congress, the Bole MP, who also doubles as the deputy minister for lands and natural resources, Hon. Alhaji Yussif Sulemana Ori acknowledged all dignitaries present at the occasion. He said that the President, H.E John Dramani Mahama, wants to appeal to all the people to embrace peace and coexistence to enhance development.
He urged the elders to identify their roles in the traditional area , and the youth should utilise this opportunity to be productive rather than engaging in conflicts. Each and everyone as individuals and as a group will not be left out in the sharing of the national cake, he expressed.
According to the Bole MP, in terms of projects, he assured the good people of the Bole district that communities without electricity will soon get access to electricity and communities with electricity but need extension, work will commence soon. He added that with regards to agriculture, there will be a construction of farmers service centre at Sakpa in the Bole district. He assured the good people of Sonyo that very soon there will be getting a small water project and road construction, teachers accommodation at Seripe and Sakpa, six classroom block at Mankuma and other communities that will benefit from this projects.
On his part, he further expressed that he will soon go on radio to tell the good people of Bole and its traditional area and the good people of Sawla and its traditional area what the government is intended to do. He mentioned that the construction of the Wenchi – Bole – Sawla – Tuna – Wa road will soon commence. The town roads of Bole and Sawla will also be constructed, he said.
The Bole MP, on behalf of the President, promised that a brand new pickup would be handed over to the Vagla Youth Association for their daily activities. Also, an amount of 200,000 Ghana cedis (2bn) will be donated into their educational trust fund. The MP personally donated an amount of 50,000 Ghana cedis to the Vagla Youth Association, 5 sets of jeaseys, and 5 footballs to all the teams that participated in the football activities.
On behalf of the Paramount Chief of the Bole Traditional area, Yiram Bolewura Sarfo Kutugefeso l, the secretary for Bolewura, Mr. Abdulai Haruna, during his speech, noted that such congress is not only for merriment but also for the renewal of our heritage and traditional values that bring us together as one people. He appealed for a minute silence to honour all departed souls in the traditional area as a result of conflict.
Mr. Abdulai Haruna reiterated that the theme, “Peaceful co-existence, youths as agents of development,” must not only be embraced but also form the core values for all youth associations in traditional area. Historically, the Bole traditional area before the colonial era had an established political traditional rule. A society with articulated values system grounded on traditional perspective and knowledge which undoubtedly created a favourable atmosphere of peaceful coexistence, understanding the cooperations among settlers and the mainstream indigenes for the Bole traditional area.
According to the secretary, peaceful coexistence is the most important and dependable parameter for the operational success of human, societal, and socio-political development. Peaceful coexistence is the society in which diversity is recognised for its potentialities, equity is pursued and maintained, independence between different groups is recognised, and conflicts are avoided. That we must embrace a relationship across differences based on mutual price and respect.
He further expressed that the role of the youth in peace building is a never-ending one. He appealed to all traditional leaders, youths, stakeholders, and all the associations to champion peace building through youth peace education, conflict resolution mechanisms, and other proper enlightenment strategies. He added that the constant rate of youth unemployment threatens the national security, and he calls onto the government to consider recruiting the youth massively to the security service. The youth are the driven forces of the national development, and to achieve such, they should be engaged meaningfully, he said.
The National Vagla Youth Association President, Mr. Jacob Kuubu Ahiah, delivering his speech at the ceremony, reiterated the theme of the congress, “Peaceful co-existence, youths as agents of development.” He expressed that the theme reflects a period of calm and peace for all the groups in the region. He urged that they all unite to fight a common enemy, which he called “poverty.” The youths as active agents of development must be active in promoting peace. The Vagla Youth Association works hand in hand with various key stakeholders for development, he expressed.
The VAYA President highlighted that they should embrace peace that unite them and avoid divisions. Politically, he added that the Vagla Youth Association must be active and not passive, and the association is opened for all political parties.
The congress is a place for meeting together and for spiritual unity in diversity. The congress is a melting point for the beauty and multi-explicitly of the Vagli groups. It is an occasion to pull resources together for the development of the Vagla communities. The congress is an avenue to bring politicians across different political parties together. It is a period to canvas for educational development, especially technical and vocational education. The congress is a classic period for elections for the VAYA national executives. He further appealed to the president to make education funds available to facilitate their academic pursuit, the president mentioned.
Present at the congress are traditional leaders from various communities in and outside the district, eminent political leaders, stakeholders, tribe groups, various youth associations, dance groups, and other members that graced the occasion
Source Borosun Abdulaih
