President Akufo-Addo has today, Sunday, 24th July 2024, commissioned the rehabilitated Asomdwoe Park, the final resting place of the 3rd President of the 4th Republic, the late Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta-Mills.
Delivering his speech at the ceremony, the President said “Sometime after becoming President, I became aware of the sad state of Asomdwoe Park, and, in 2020, I received a request from the late President’s energetic Communications Director, Koku Anyidoho, who runs the Institute named after the President, for the assistance of Government to rehabilitate the facility. I agreed, and, subsequently, I instructed the Coastal Development Authority to undertake a thorough rehabilitation of the Park, with the close co-operation of the Institute.”
He asserted that “It was not right that the Park had been allowed to deteriorate considerably over the years since his burial in 2012, and I am happy that it was under the Presidency of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, allegedly his “fiercest critic”, that Asomdwoe Park has been elevated to a status befitting the final resting place of a President of the Republic of Ghana. I did so with that objective solely in mind.
My wife Rebecca and our children join me and the Government in reiterating our sincere condolences to his wife, Naadu, his son, his entire family, to the National Democratic Congress, and, indeed, to the people of Ghana for their great loss. The man from Ekumfi Otuam will not be forgotten.”
To him, the commissioning of an infrastructural project by Government should naturally be a joyous occasion, and should elicit the display of pomp and pageantry in recognition of the feat achieved. But today’s event is not one of those normal occasions”.
On the issue of alleged desecration of the tomb of the late President, he denied it saying, “there have also been unfortunate accusations levelled by some against Government about the supposed desecration of the tomb of the late President in the process of rehabilitating the Park. Nothing could be further from the truth, and it is good to note that these false, malicious statements have been firmly dispelled and debunked by the Coastal Development Authority, through the agency of its CEO, Mr. Jerry Ahmed Shaib, in a public statement under his hand”.
On his part, the CEO of the Coastal Development Authority (CODA), Jerry Ahmed Shaib stated that it was a great honour that the park has been renovated.
He said the redevelopment of the facility comprising a library, the redesign and construction of an ICT lab, cafeteria and artefact buildings, fence wall and other auxiliary projects have been completed.
He further revealed that the competition in the project beings to a total of about 446 representing approximately 60% of 741 projects being executed by CODA since 2020.
He said the remaining 40% are at various stages of completion.
He used the occasion to commend the contractor for executing the project and Koku Anyidoho, the CEO of Atta-Mills Institute.
Koku Anyidoho in his speech expressed gratitude to the current government for completing the project to give the late Mills a befitting resting place.
In a dramatic move, the former director of communication at the presidency under the late Mills sang don’t and knelt to glorify God for the commissioning of the project.
He recounted the death of the late Mills and how he was sent to the intensive care unit at the 37 Military Hospital.
According to him, the late Mills kept revealing himself to him asking him not to forget about him and that he needed a befitting resting place if others would forget about him.
At the ceremony, the President on behalf of Ghanaians laid a wreath followed by the Kuku Hill Family of the late Mills, the Atta-Mills Institute, and members of the diplomatic corps among others.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
