WHOEVER thought that beating fontomfrom drums is the preserve of men might have got it wrong, as activities at the National Festival of Arts and Culture (WAFAC) at the Kumasi Centre for National Culture showed that women were equally capable on the drums.

Women from the Tanokrom Agroma Cultural Troupe, at the Sunyani Centre of National Culture proved that they are a force to reckon with when it comes to beating the fontonfrom.

You had to see it, to believe it. They did not only thrill the crowd with the accompanying traditional music , but also their skills on the drums.

As if the regional day activities were all female affair, another event worthy of attention was a group of old women from Kokofu in Ashanti, who exhibited their dexterity on the ‘donno’.

The 10-day programme was under the theme “50 years of Cultural Integration And National Development”.

All kinds of exhibitions including photographs and handicrafts ran throughout the festival period.

The public also patronised the traditional wares which enabled the exhibitors to make some money.

The Twiediampong African Dance Ensemble, Amammereso youth choir and choral groups in Kumasi were there to win the hearts of many in the crowd with their performances.

Today, a national durbar of chiefs will climax the official closing ceremony with the chiefs displaying their rich and colourful regalia.

There was no doubt that NAFAC afforded Ghanaians the opportunity to renew and consolidate their cultural values.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Samuel Owusu-Ansah, described NAFAC as being an event that would unite Ghanaians to forge ahead as one people of one nation and with a common destiny.

He said that there might be differences and diversity but culture remained one of a stung and irresistible unifying force binding Ghanaians as a people.

The Government intends to spend GH 4,043,663 on the development of tourism next year.

The amount would be used to improve the standard of tourism marketing and services in both public and private sectors; upgrade and expand the stock of facilities and to facilitate the development of Old Accra.

Out of the total amount allocated to the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, Government would provide GH 3,739,533 while GH 304,130 would be provided from internally generated funds.

Mr Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, announced the allocation when he read the 2008 Budget Statement in Parliament on Thursday.

He noted that the Ministry sought to deepen the relations with African and Ghanaian Diaspora through Emancipation/PANAFEST and the Joseph Project activities.

The Minister said the Joseph Project (Akwaaba Anyemi), aimed at making Ghana the gateway to the “Homeland” for over 40 million African Diasporans; was launched this year. Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Ministry would in 2008 participate in international exhibitions and fairs and would continue to market Ghana through the celebration of the Emancipation/Joseph Project/World Tourism.

The Ministry would further organize the Fourth Paragliding Festival at Atibie, Kwahu and promote and manage Ghana’s coastal areas for investment purposes.

Other projects, the Ministry intends to undertake include the establishment of Tourism Information Centres in 10 regional and 20 district capitals in the country as well as organizing training programmes to ensure that the ECOWAS standards for service delivery were observed.

The Finance Minister said the Tourism Ministry would continue to facilitate the development of Old Accra, especially the development of Ababio Square and the Old Fishing Harbour, facilitate the setting up of Rest Stops along major roads and construct receptive facilities at Akwamufie and Saltpond.

Touching on the achievement of the Ministry in 2007, Mr Baah-Wiredu said the Ministry in partnership with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Municipality of Amsterdam and the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Ghana had constructed and inaugurated an office in the Old City Engineers Yard for the Old Accra Development Agency.

He said the contract for the rehabilitation of the Brazil House has been signed between the Tabon Family of Brazilian decent in Ga Mashie, the Brazilian Embassy and the Project Implementation Committee.

The Brazil House, he said, would be used as a museum to expose Brazilian Heritage in Ghana to enhance tourism in the area.

The Ministry also procured a number of artefacts and pictures as part of its efforts to create a museum of modern Ghana. The restoration and listing of historical buildings for conservation and tourist attraction is also being undertaken.

The Ghana Tourist Board implemented a programme dubbed: “Ghanaians tourist-friendly”, with the ultimate aim of making Ghana the preferred tourist destination in West Africa.

In addition the Board trained 1,000 personnel from the private sector in front desk office duty, food and beverage service and housekeeping through a crash-training programme to improve service delivery in the industry.

The Ministry, through Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTCATT), trained 300 youth for employment in the hospitality industry apart from training 40 tour guides and travel and tour operators.

The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board on Wednesday officially opened a new museum that would focus on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade at the Ussher Fort prisons in Accra. The Museum funded by the European Union through UNESCO has in stock a collection of valuable personal effect of those who were involved in the slave trade as well as paintings and art crafts that depict the slave trade.

On display were equipment used to chain the slaves, drinking cups made of clay, huge grinding stones and paintings of those raped in the heinous trade.

Mr. Abeeku Dickson, Special Assistant to the Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, who cut the tape to open the museum said the ministry was poised to create tourism products that would offer fulfilment to tourists.

“Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world and Ghana has to take advantage of it”.

Mr Dickson noted that the slave trade was peculiar to Ghana’s history and that Ghana alone had 42 forts and castles at the time of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

He called for cooperation from the chiefs and people of Ga Mashie and urged the Museum and Monuments Boards to ensure that the Ussher Fort Museum was managed with sustainability.

Mr. Filiberto Ceriani Sebregondi, European Union Resident Commissioner, said the EU was fully aware of the importance of cultural heritage and its potential role for local economic development hence their support for the project.

The project funded with 420,000 Ghana cedis through the European Development Fund, he said, had a huge potential for the development of cultural tourism.

Mr Sebregondi said the EU also funded the museum because of the historical links of the Ussher forts with various European countries. He expressed the hope that the restoration of the bastion of the fort and its conversion into a functional and sustainable museum would raise awareness and educate young people on the preservation of the cultural heritage represented by the fort. “For the general public as well as Ghanaian school children, it offers an additional opportunity to harnessing education for cultural heritage development.”

Mr Sebregondi said the museum would allow international tourists to stay a bit longer in Accra before going to Elmina or Cape-Coast as a recreational area. Mrs. Sarah Bucknor, Manager of the Museum, said the museum focused on slavery because the slave trade was an ancient institution and it was established at the Ussher Fort because the Fort is part of the world heritage sites selected for funding by UNESCO. She expressed hope that people would patronize the museum and also urged the general public to visit the place and learn more about their history.

Mr. Joseph Maisie, Acting Director of the Ghana Museum and Monuments Board said the museum would place much emphasis on the development of tourism in the Ga Mashie area. Nii Tackie Commey, Member of Parliament for Odododiodoo, said the opening of the museum in the Ga Mashie area was a welcome one and called on citizens to cooperate with the authorities to ensure its sustainability Nii Okaidja II, Gbese Manste who represented the Ga Manste, expressed gratitude to all those who contributed to the planning and completion of the museum project.

Strengthening public and private partnership has been identified as key to promote the Ghanaian tourism sector to compete effectively with other tourism led economies.

To this effect, the Japan International Development Agency (JICA) and the SNV Netherlands Development has therefore sponsored a seven-member delegation to South Africa to understudy their experience.

The study tour was also part of the Tourism Development Project being funded by JICA with the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations as partner.

At a debriefing session on the tour in Accra, Ms Mawuko Fumey, Tourism Advisor for SNV and a member of the delegation said the team which left Accra for the weeklong trip focused on areas such as tourism product development, funding, structure and administration. She said the team was also able to study best practices on research, information dissemination, human resource development, tourism marketing and promotion.

Sharing the South African experience, Mr Nkunu Akyea, Chief Executive Officer for Search Lite Foundation and spokesperson for the delegation, said South Africa had classified tourism as part of its five prioritized economic led sectors, contributing to 120 billion rands of their Growth Development Product (GDP).

He said there was therefore the need for Ghana to look at other practices as adopted by the South Africans such as strong government goodwill and support, and focusing on a public sector led and driven by community based prticipation.

He stated there had been success where tourism strategies were based on strong consumer research efforts and where sector players were highly involved in administration, management, marketing and funding of tourism.

Mr Akyea noted that strong networking between industry players and various arms of government, engendering a sense of togetherness as well as making conscious efforts to develop products with particular regard for quality, environment and conservation had also helped the South African sector.

He said although the South African economy was more advanced than that of Ghana, with time Ghana could also adapt such practices and others that would enable the country to compete effectively with other countries.

Mrs Bridget Katsriku, Chief Director for the Ministry said the country was making strenuous efforts to promote its tourism sector, saying the Project was a demonstration of that goodwill.

She said reports from the delegation showed that the trip was successful and their experience and knowledge could go a long way to assist the country in improving the sector.

She hinted that a public private partnership forum would soon be held for the industry players to share ideas on what to consider for the Ghanaian situation.

Today is exactly 70 days to the grand opening of the MTN African Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted in four Ghanaian cities namely Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi.

We can now boost of some of the most modern sports facilities. According to the Confederation of African Football, Ghana’s new stadia can be counted among the best 10 in Africa

Now that the venues for the continental fiesta are completed and handed over, it is time for Ghanaians to get prepared to be involved in the action.

The African Cup of Nations is not only about football but the culture of Africa as a whole and Ghana in particular. We must take the advantage of hosting the championship to showcase what the nation has in terms of tourism, culture and heritage.

By African standards, Ghana has always been a clean country but as the whole world focuses on us as the host of the 2008 MTN African Cup of Nations, it brings up the challenge of welcoming visitors to a homely atmosphere where they can enjoy peace and tranquility.

There is the need to beautify the country to make it attractive. All hands must be on deck in order to achieve this goal. In the same way the Black Stars play in cohesion to strike at goal, residents of the four cities must also unite and take up cleaning campaigns to make their environs clean and tidy.

It will be ideal for houses to be painted to make them sparkle. Streets, hotels restaurants, chop bars, drinking bars, lorry parks and markets should be kept very neat from now onwards.

The media has a big role to play in educating the masses. There is the need to sensitise the masses to let them know what is expected of every one.
I want to commend all corporate bodies and individuals that are uniting Africa through the game of football.

As the time approaches for the big kickoff, I pray the Local Organising Committee to speed up activities especially with the publicity. Let us all work together to achieve our dream because victory is achieved when we walk hard towards a common goal.

Liberty International Travel Services, a local Ghanaian tour operator has launched a search website to promote electronic travel and tour businesses in Ghana and Africa as a whole.

The site  www.mygoodagent.com has been designed to network all travel and tourism operators in Africa and Ghana in particular through the promotion of tourism, culture and economic activities on the continent.

Mr. William Adjovu, Managing Director of the Liberty Travel services said Africa’s tourism potential remained untapped despite the fact that many governments saw the sector as critical for sustainable economic growth.

He said Africa’s massive tourism potential could serve as an attraction of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to many nations but noted that most travel agents were not online limiting their scope of activities.

Mr. Kofi Osei-Ameyaw, Deputy Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations who launched the website lauded the initiative and said it tied in well with the government’s holistic plan to market the nation’s tourism potentials.

He said tourism had become one of the most competitive industries but indicated that the challenge had always been lack of information.

”If we are serious about making Ghana the preferred tourism destination in Africa, then we must be serious with information on tourism and culture,” he said.

Mr. Osei-Ameyaw said the Ministry is determined to make tourism the number one foreign exchange earner within the next five years and that can only happen when all stakeholders within the sector play their roles well.

The Brong-Ahafo and Volta Regions on Monday demonstrated their rich cultural diversity and heritage at a colourful ceremony to mark the fifth day of this year’s National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) being held in Kumasi.

The event dubbed “Regional Days Celebration”, formed part of programmes lined-up to afford the regions in the country the opportunity to showcase their tourism and development potentials as well as the history of their people.

It was a sight to behold as the Tanokrom Agoromma and Have Number II Cultural Troupe from the Brong-Ahafo and Volta respectively treated the gathering to cultural and artistic displays.

Dressed in kente cloths and other traditional wears, Tanokrom Agoromma did the ‘Kete’ and ‘Fontomfrom’ traditional dance whiles their counterparts from Volta performed the ‘Abgaza’ and ‘Boborbor’ dance to the admiration of the audience and invited guests including the Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, who occasionally joined the groups to perform the traditional dances.

The Regions were represented at the event by their Ministers, a host of District Chief Executives, paramount chiefs and other traditional rulers who came to the durbar grounds in a retinue amidst drumming and singing.

Addressing the gathering, Mr Ignatius Baffour-Awuah, Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said the region had great potentials for investment in agriculture, mining, industries and tourism, which were yet to be fully exploited for the benefit of the people.

He said in view of this, the Regional Co-ordinating Council (RCC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and President’s Special Initiative (PSI) were planning to hold annual expositions dubbed the “Brong-Ahafo Time”, which would be aimed at showcasing the tourism and development potentials in the region.

The expositions, he said, would take the form of fairs and bazaars and noted that the event would run alongside the Region’s Cultural Awareness Months.

Mr Baffour-Awuah pointed out that amongst its features the region boasts of large reserves of forest and deposits of minerals, cocoa plantations and large acres of food crops, adding that, it also had 44 paramount chiefs and five divisional councils that constituted the Brong-Ahafo Regional House of Chiefs.

Togbega Gabusu VI, Paramount Chief of the Gbi Traditional Area and President of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs, stressed the need for the nation to preserve and promote her cultural heritage.

The Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations is to redesign the Osu Oxford Street, a premier business centre in Accra, to become a world- class commercial avenue to boost tourism and investment revenue.

To this effect, the sector Minister, Mr. Stephen Asamoah Boateng, his deputy, Mr. Kofi Osei Ameyaw and other key players in the tourism sector on Tuesday held a consultative meeting with business owners in the area to call for their support and discuss ways to implement the initiative.

Mr. Asamoah Boateng explained that the project, which would be replicated in other major trading centres across the country, would ensure maintenance of an artistic and high security and serenity to leave a memorable experience on both foreign and local people who patronised the place.

He hinted that the Ministry had engaged the services of an architect to do the necessary planning, adding that a technical committee meeting would be held next week involving stakeholders such as sanitary, security and utility providers to assist in the project.

The business owners however, called for the decongestion of traffic in the area and more attention
on security, utility and sanitation, which were affecting smooth business transactions.

Mr. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, has said the Ministry would soon launch an integral local and international tourism promotion campaign to generate excitement and traffic for the Ghana CAN 2008 football fiesta opening next January.

He said the campaign, which would be launched in a couple of weeks, would also support the warmth of Ghana as a country using her people and galvanize support for the Black Stars.

The campaign whose implementation would be done through partnership with internal and external partners would seek to rally mass sensitization of identified publics in the hospitality industry like hotels, restaurants, chop bars, car rentals and taxi drivers.

Mr Asamoah-Boateng, speaking at the press briefing on the preparation of the tourism sector for the upcoming African Cup of Nations (CAN) 2008 to be hosted by Ghana, said under the campaign stakeholders in the hospitality industry would be required to keep their environment clean and maintain high business standards especially those in the four host cities.

He said a 90-day countdown to be launched in Kumasi on Wednesday, would be observed daily in hotels, restaurants, night clubs, chop bars, drinking bars and the media.

The Minister said production and placement of special Ghana CAN 2008 campaign materials locally and in the international media, in-flight advertising on all Accra in and out bound flights and domestic flights was expected to begin on November 1. Mr Asamoah-Boateng said there would be creation of special Ghanaian villages at the key tournament centres that would be offering everything Ghanaian - food, music, artefacts. Big carnivals in the evenings at the tournament centres for winding down and social interactions would also be catered for, he said, adding that the ministry was exploring the possibility of making those events cross cultural.

He expressed the hope that the programmes would usher a new era of tourism promotion for Ghana CAN 2008 and beyond. Reminding the public about the contributions of tourism to the economy, Mr Asamoah-Boateng said in 2005 total arrivals of 429,000 tourists provided 836 million dollars. “We intend sustaining the interest generated through the series of planned activities periodically,” he said. Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports, said the Ghana CAN 2008 event offered an opportunity to showcase Ghana and position Africa as a strategic sports-tourism destination and towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ghanaians who would be trooping to the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park in Accra on November 3 would witness real Japanese Yosakoi dance when the Ghana Yosakoi Dance Festival opens.

The organizers of the dance festival promise a more exciting festival this time round, better than previous ones.

Throwing more light on the history behind the dance festival in Ghana, Chieko Voncujovi Jimbo, Director of Ghana Yosakoi Planners noted that Yosakoi dance is a traditional folk dance which originated in Kochi, Japan after the end of Second World War and has been held in Kochi since then but was first introduced in Ghana five years ago by the then Japanese Ambassador to Ghana, Mrs. Kazuko Asai and has been held every year since.

The meaning of Yosakoi is ‘Happiness Will Come’.
Continuing, Madam Jimbo explained that this year’s event would be different because it is being held in line with the celebration of the country’s 50th anniversary.

“Yosakoi in Ghana is a dance competition among Ghanaian dancing teams and schools, and even at this point, 14 Ghanaian dancing groups comprising of more than 700 dancers all over Ghana have already registered to compete with each other at the festival,” she indicated.

Spectators would not only enjoy the dance competition but also have the pleasure of watching and participating in other performances like acrobat, music and games.

The director expressed satisfaction with previous festivals and their patronage and pointed out that this year’s promises to be more fun, even so when admission is free.

Touching on the importance of the festival, Madam Jimbo explained that since its inception the healthy friendship between the good people of Ghana and Japan had deepened, with this festival expected to add more to the existing friendship.

About 20 students from Achimota Secondary School and St. Peter’s Secondary School in August this year visited Japan on a cultural exchange programme that saw them participate in one of the biggest street dance festivals in Japan dubbed “Super Yosakoi”, in Tokyo.

The Ghanaian students teamed up with their Japanese counterparts and together they danced at the festival wearing costumes made in colours of the Ghana flag.

Batman Simini was not left out of the celebration as he composed a song, “Yosakoi Yensa” for the celebration, with choreography done by his dancers.

The joint performance by the Ghanaian and Japanese students really made a remarkable impact, indicating the real meaning of the festival which is unity through dance.

The main sponsor for this year’s festival is Kawasho Foods Corporation of Japan, manufacturers of GEISHA which has been consumed in Ghana for well over 40 years.