KMA Orders Shop Closures For Otumfuo Anniversary Clean-up
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has directed shop owners within the metropolis to shut their shops to make way for a clean-up exercise ahead of the commencement of the 25th Anniversary celebration of Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.
As a result of the exercise scheduled to take place on Saturday, March 30, 2024, between 6 am and 12 pm, vehicular movements have also been prohibited, a statement by the KMA said.
“To this end, all trading activities and all shops are to remain closed while the owners partake in this exercise.
“Equally, KMA would like to remind all commercial drivers that no vehicular movement would be allowed during the stipulated period for the exercise,” a part of the statement read.
Meanwhile, all residents have been encouraged to join the exercise and tidy up their environments.
The cleanup exercise has already begun in Kumasi with some Senior High Schools including Adventist Senior High School (ADASS), Serwaa Nyarko Girls’ Senior High School and Prempeh College on various streets with their brooms.
On Wednesday, March 27, students of ADASS filtered through the streets of Bantama and Suame to clean up and take out weeds while Serwaa Nyarko students did the same within and around the Manhyia Palace.
Celebration
In April, which is a few days away, Otumfuo will host two separate durbars, the first on April 21 with fetish priests and priestesses and the second on April 24 with ethnic groups domiciled in Asanteman.
Ahead of that, there will be a launching of a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) competition dubbed Otumfuo STEM Festival on April 15, 2024.
Next will be firework activities at seven designated venues including the Cultural Centre, Heroes’ Park, Manhyia, Tafo, Jubilee Park, Aboabo Post Office, and Adum on the eve of April 26, which will mark exactly 25 years since Otumfuo ascended the Golden Stool.
On April 26, per schedules released by the Planning Committee of the anniversary, a non-denominational thanksgiving service will take place at the Dwabrem grounds at the Manhyia Palace and there will be an anniversary dinner at the residence of the King in the evening.
There will also be a storied photo and video exhibition showcasing the reign of the King at the yet-to-be-commissioned auditorium at the Manhyia Palace in April.
Another thanksgiving service, a dinner and a choral musical concert will be held on May 6 to mark the 74th birthday of the King.
The service will be held at the St. Cyprian’s Church while the rest of the events will take place at the Manhyia Palace.
From May 7 to May 10, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) will hold a four-day programme in honour of their Chancellor.
The 25th Anniversary will climax on May 12, 2024, with a durbar at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi.
