THE Assembly Member for the Damweo/Kumbangre Electoral Area in the Bolgatanga Municipality, Mr. Ayeta Ayine Sampson, has urged traditional rulers and their people to use festivals to promote their cultural heritage and social identity.

He stated that the current democratic dispensation and decentralized governance in the country was a wake up call to all and sundry to design, implement and champion their own development agenda.

The assembly member, who is also a polling station chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Bolgatanga Constituency, made the call over the weekend at the fourth annual Ayagle-Kuure festival of the chiefs, people and land owners of the Bolgatanga Traditional Area.

The Ayagle-Kuure festival is celebrated to climax the hard work of the people of Bolgatanga during and after the farming season.

The occasion is also meant to take stock of what had been achieved by the people in the past year and evolve strategies for the ensuing year.

Mr. Sampson called on the people in the area to use the festival to renew and consolidate their bonds of friendship and co-operation.

He commended youth groups, opinion leaders and individuals who contributed in diverse ways to promote development in the area.

The traditional land owner of the Bolgatanga Municipality, Asaandema Akowo Ayeremoah, said the people of the area had undertaken a number of self-help projects in the last few years with the assistance of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly (BMA), non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and philanthropic individuals.

He appealed to the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mr. David Apasera, to assist the people financially to complete some of their development projects.

The assembly member implored the government to compensate people on whose lands national projects were situated.

He appealed for more boreholes and toiler facilities in the communities, as life was not worth living for residents of any community which did not have enough water and toilet facilities.

Mr. Sampson called on the BMA to assist the people to rehabilitate their dams and provide irrigation canals to enhance agricultural activities in the area.

The MP for the Bolgatanga Constituency, Mr. David Apasera, in an address delivered on his behalf, advised the youth in the area to respect their cultural values.

He urged them to register with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to enable them access health care.