The newly enstooled Paramount Queen­mother of Ngleshie Alata, James Town in Accra, Naa Affipong IV, has pledged to make girl-child education the cornerstone of her reign, emphasising its critical role in trans­forming communities and empowering future generations.

Speaking after her recent enstoolment, Naa Affipong IV, known in pri­vate life as Mrs Alberta Addo, called on parents and guardians to prior­itise the education of their daughters, stressing that educating a girl has a far-reaching impact beyond the individual.

“I pledge to dedicate my reign to champion girl-child education, which is a crucial tool for youth empowerment and community development,” she declared.

She pointed out that empowering girls through both academic and voca­tional training would not only reduce social issues such as teenage pregnan­cy but also prepare them to become responsible and influential leaders in society.

Naa Affipong IV highlighted the urgent need to provide young girls with equal opportunities and create envi­ronments that support their growth and confidence.

She urged parents to be intentional about their daughters’ futures, saying “an educated girl has the power to lift her entire family out of poverty and transform her community. We must not fail them.”

The Queen mother also appealed to chiefs, elders, and community leaders to join forces in promoting initiatives aimed at empowering the youth, particularly young girls, through education, mentorship, and entrepre­neurship.

While advocating girl-child edu­cation, Naa Affipong IV stressed the importance of peace, unity, and moral values within the community, especial­ly among the youth.

The Queenmother also emphasised the importance of collaboration be­tween traditional authorities and state institutions to address broader commu­nity challenges such as unemployment, infrastructure deficits, and social vices.

Her enstoolment ceremony was marked by vibrant cultural displays and attended by chiefs, queen mothers, elders, and residents of the Ngleshie Alata community. As part of the rites, she swore an oath of allegiance to the elders of Adjumako Durampong, promising to serve her people with dedication

 By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu

 Vice President Professor Naa­na Jane Opoku-Agyemang on Tuesday led a government delegation to pay a courtesy visit on the families of the five civilian victims of the August 6 helicopter tragedy.

The visit, which was on behalf of President John Dramani Mahama, who is currently on a working visit to Japan, was to comfort the wid­ows and children of the deceased persons, and to find out how they were doing.

The Vice President’s delegation visited the families of Dr Samu­el Sarpong, Vice Chairman of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Mr Samuel Aboagye, Deputy Director-General, National Disaster management Organisation (NADMO).

The rest were the families of Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, Deputy National Security Coordina­tor in-charge of Human Security; Dr Edward Kofi Omane Boamah, Defence Minister and Alhaji Dr Ibra­him Murtala Muhammed, Minister of Environment, Science and Technol­ogy.

Members of the Vice President’s delegation included Mr Julius Debrah, Chief of Staff at the Presi­dency; Dr Valarie Sawyerr, a Senior Presidential Advisor for Governmen­tal Affairs; Mr Alex Segbefia, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Vice President and Mr Seth Terkper, Eco­nomic Advisor to the President.

The rest are Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, Deputy Chief of Staff in-charge of Finance and Administra­tion; Mr Fifi Fiavi Kwetey, General Secretary of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC); Hajia Shamima Muslim, Deputy Presiden­tial Spokesperson; Nana Yaa Jan­tuah, a Presidential Staffer and Mr Rex Omar, Presidential Staffer.

The Limuna Family expressed gratitude to the Government for the visit, stating that the visit would go a long way to strengthen and comfort them.

Hajia Shamima Muslim, a Deputy Presidential Spokesperson, speak­ing to the media at the end of the visit, said President Mahama had directed that the delegation should visit each family of the deceased persons to find out how they were doing, especially the spouses and the children.

She noted that because the Presi­dent was out of the jurisdiction, the Acting President, Vice Presi­dent Professor Opoku-Agyemang, led the delegation to pay visitations to each one of the families of the victims of the tragedy.

She said basically, the visit was also to communicate the President’s commitment to support the families through this very difficult period and to reassure them of the pledge that he had made, especially for the families with young children, who were still in school, with the announcement of the Children’s Support Fund.

Hajia Shamima Muslim announced that a lot of donations were already coming through.

She said those who might want to also visit the Government Commu­nication portals on how they could also donate to the Children’s Sup­port Fund for the various victims or the families of the nation’s fallen heroes could do so.

That, she said, was also to help the Government ensure that what­ever their fathers would have done for them, the Government would step in and do the same.

Touching on the adult children of the victims, Hajia Shamima Muslim said conversations were around on how to support their own aspira­tions; stating that it was the same commitment to them.

“So today we just came to reas­sure the families that the President is with them and will stand with them throughout this very difficult period,” she said.-GNA