Entertainment
South Africa is open for business- H.E Grace Jeanet Mason
South African High Commissioner to Ghana, Her Excellency Grace Jeanet Mason has appealed to various stakeholders to continuously do business with them.
According to her, South Africa is open for business, and have put adequate security measures in place to meet the needs of tourists.
Her Excellency Grace Jeanet Mason stressed that they have instituted Safety Tourism Monitors among others to ensure the safety of tourists.
Speaking at a Corporate Networking Event held at the residence of the High Commissioner on August 22,2024, she said, “Please do come and visit South Africa, South Africa is open for business, our beautiful landscape from all the 9 provinces, and our diverse cultures.”
She noted that tourists would have a tall list of places like Mandela Square, malls, pristine beaches, the table mountain, sites, among other beauties and heritage sites to visit.
The High Commissioner took the opportunity to celebrate the gains made as a result of the strong bilateral relationship between South Africa and Ghana which dates back to 30 years ago.
On his part, the West African Regional Director of South African Tourism, Thekiso Rakolojane, said in November 2023, they faced a challenge of decline in arrivals, adding that as a result, they were only able to achieve less than 30 per cent of their target, a situation which could have collapsed their market in Ghana if it had continued.
However, Mr.Rkolojane announced that at the end of March 2024 which is their financial year, they were hoping to get 15,000 Ghanaians visits from Ghana, surprisingly, they were able to exceed the target, by receiving about 21,000 Ghanaians visiting South African by the end of the period.
He expressed his appreciation to the South African Mission in Ghana, South African Airways and other trade partners in Ghana for helping them achieve such a feat.
Mr.Rkolojane was optimistic that they could do more, and assured stakeholders that they are ready for more business, as well as looking forward to working with all to address various concerns.
“If we can have 21,000 Ghanaians visit South Africa, directly injecting close to half a billion into our economy, we can double it, and we are saying as much as your business events contributes to our economy, we can contribute to your bottom line by providing you with high-class technology in terms of your training needs, excess to the variety of experiences in terms of the things to do in| South Africa and world class facilities,” he noted.
Some of the stakeholders at the event expressed appreciation to South African Tourism for close collaborations over the years.
The event marked a significant effort to further strengthening bilateral relationship between South Africa and Ghana with an an objective of fostering collaboration among various stakeholders in the corporate
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Entertainment
Okyeame Kwame is ENABLE Ambassador for World Bank, Solidaridad others
Decorated Ghanaian musician, Okyeame Kwame has been made ENABLE ambassador with World Bank, Solidaridad, REDD+, Forestry Commission and Tropenboss as partners.
The Enhancing Access to Benefits while Lowering Emissions (EnABLE) project in Ghana will complement the Emissions Reduction Programme and provide direct support to groups or constituencies that are excluded or likely to be excluded from the distribution of carbon and non-carbon benefits.
The project is implemented by Solidaridad in partnership with Tropenbos Ghana across six Hotspot Intervention Areas, (HIAs) in Ghana, with funding from the World Bank. Solidaridad will work in Ahafo-Ano, Sefwi- Wiawso/Bibiani, and Kakum HIAs, whilst Tropenbos focuses on Juaboso-Bia, Atiwa and Asutifi-Asunafo HIAs.
Okyeame Kwame has been selected because of his active engagement in climate change and environmental issues in Ghana and internationally.
As part of his roles, Okyeame kwame will compose a dedicated Enable song and jingles which will be used to support climate finance benefit sharing inclusivity.
In that vain, he will also engage communities in inclusivity awareness creation and help amplify the voices of the marginalized in climate finance interventions.
The musician has also engaged on a similar project, the DGM Project, where he used his following and public influence to support awareness creation on climate change and sustainable land use.
It is expected that with this background, Okyeame is very well positioned to contribute to awareness creation on inclusive climate finance benefit sharing.
The marginalized people in the major cocoa growing areas where the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme was implemented, particularly women, youth, migrants and disabled will benefit from this project.
Enable seeks to drive inclusive climate finance benefit sharing. It is important for everyone to understand that participatory development also includes the need to ensure that the benefits of development interventions are not limited by socioeconomic and cultural exclusions.
Okyeame Kwame over the years has used his voice as instrument of change and advocacy for many project, and he is expected to impact lives with this project
Entertainment
Maiden AshantiFest held on Easter
The AshantiFest, instituted to mark Easter in the Ashanti Region, was marked a lot of entertaining activities.
According to the Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, the idea to stage a festival was conceived after a request from some youth at a clean-up exercise.
“The whole concept of the Ashanti Festival is to bring out our various sectors, showcase what we have as a region and see how best we will be able to promote inter-sectorial support for each other,” he said.
The festival, which kick-started on April 12, commenced with a clean-up exercise in all the Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts in the Ashanti Region.
A football game between sports presenters and Kumawood actors sparked excitement in the region, and a boxing night followed at the Parade Grounds of KNUST.
There was also a stage play featuring Kumawoood All Stars in ‘Kejetia vs Makola was a highlight , offering both entertainment and though provoking moments.
At the Food Fair and Bazaar held at the Kumasi Cultural Centre, a variety of indigenous Ashanti food was on display, attracting many patrons within the city.
It offered the stage for other cultures to promote their cuisine. The Ghanaian traditional fabrics and locally manufactured clothing featured prominently at the event grounds.
A Science and Technology Fair was also featured as part of the education activities.
A blood donation exercise featured alongside the health screening exercise, which was also opened to the public.
Among the celebrities that graced the occasion were The CEO of the National Film Authority ,Kafui Danku, Actress Nana Ama Mac Brown, Nana Hayford, Funny Face and Kweku Manu.
Others were Bukom Banku, Vivian Jill, Wayoosi, Oboy Siki, Oheneba Jude and Sumsum Ahuofe.
Source; Myjoyonline
