Chief of Mampong, Osabarima Kwame Dartey III, has said late Tetteh Quarshie, the pioneer of cocoa farming in Ghana is a Ga from the Greater Accra region.
He debunked a claim by President Akufo-Addo that Tetteh Quarshie was from Mampong in the Eastern Region.
In his speech delivered at the 67th Independence Day Anniversary on March 6, 2024, President Akufo-Addo, while highlighting the contribution of the region to the cocoa industry of Ghana, acknowledged the role of Tetteh Quarshie, who introduced cocoa to Ghana from Equatorial Guinea.
He also mentioned that Tetteh Quarshie was from the Eastern Region.
“Indeed, Tetteh Quarshie, an indigene of Mampong Akuapem, here in the Eastern Region, brought back, in the late 19th century, the cocoa pod from Fernando Po, now Bioko, in Equatorial Guinea, an act which led him and others to establish our nation’s first commercial cocoa farms here in the Eastern Region,” the president said in his speech.
However, in an interview on Adom FM’s morning show Dwaso Nsem, Osabarima Dartey noted that, while Mampong has its own historical significance, there is no credible information to support the assertion that Tetteh Quarshie was a native of that town.
He said when he brought the cocoa, he stayed in Mampong, and he believes it’s because of his good works that he was seen as a native of Mampong.
But Osabarima Dartey said it’s clear in history books and well-known that Tetteh Quarshie is a Ga and not Akuapem so Ghanaians should take note.
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