By Ray Chickrie – Caribbean News Now contributor – June 12, 2019

GEORGETOWN, Guyana —  President Akufo-Addo has embarked on a working visit to five Caribbean nations as part of efforts promoting the “Year of Return.” 

Having proclaimed 2019, as the “Year of Return” to Ghana, the 400th anniversary of the commencement of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, when the first 20 West African slaves landed in Jamestown, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the commemoration, according to President Akufo-Addo, “is a statement of our determination that never again should the African peoples permit themselves to be subjected to such dehumanizing conditions, sold into slavery and have their freedoms curtailed in order to build up forcibly countries other than their own and create wealth for the peoples of unknown lands to which they were sent, wealth from whose enjoyment they were largely excluded.”

The countries to be visited by the president are Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados and Jamaica.

On arrival in Guyana on Monday evening (10 Jun 2019), with much jubilation, euphoria and symbolism, since Nana Akufo-Addo is the first sitting Ghanaian leader to visit Guyana, and from one of Africa’s fasting growing economies. Ghana is home to a large segment of the Guyanese population whose enslaved ancestors were uprooted from the Gold Coast.

On Tuesday, president Nana Akufo-Addo laid a wreath at the Georgetown Non-Aligned Movement monument where there is a bust of Ghanaian first leader and co-founder of the movement, Dr Kwame Nkrumah. He also laid a wreath at the Square of the Revolution, at the statue of Kofi (Cuffy), Guyana’s national hero.

The Ghanaian leader said, “a national hero of Guyana with the name Kofi, an Akkan namely, clearly has strong links with Ghana.” Kofi was one of many Akkans who led major slave rebellions in Guyana and Suriname.

Later in the day, president Nana Akufo-Addo was received at State House by president Granger for the signing of bilateral agreements and a luncheon in his honorr.

President Nana Akufo-Addo called for cooperation between the two countries in the fields of agriculture, energy, trade and tourism investment.

The Ghanaian leader also met with the leader of the opposition, Bharrat Jagdeo and the local Ghanaian community in Guyana.

The events of the “Year of Return” are, above all, aimed at solidifying relations with descendants of Africa, resident in the Americas and the Caribbean, who have been defined as the sixth region of the African Union.

ILO CONFERENCE

Before visiting Guyana the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, was invited by the leadership of the International Labour Organization (ILO) to address the 108th International Labour Conference, in Geneva, Switzerland.

President Akufo-Addo addressed the opening session of the conference, Monday, June 10, 2019, in which he set out Ghana’s contribution to the future of the world of work.

This year’s session brought together over 5,000 delegates from around the globe to find solutions to the challenges of the future of the world of work and celebrate the centenary of the ILO.

Source: guyaneseonline.net

Accra City Hotel which is a partner hotel for the ‘Year of Return, Ghana 2019‘ has received the prestigious Hospitality Oscar from the World Travel Awards™ and won “Ghana’s Leading Hotel” in 2019.

World Travel Award was established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. Today, the World Travel Award brand is recognised globally as the ultimate hallmark of quality, with winners setting the benchmark to which all others aspire.

This latest Hospitality Oscar is a welcome addition to the many awards and accolades Accra City Hotel has won over the last years.

The award reaffirms the commitment of the Accra City Hotel to delighting guests with warm Ghanaian hospitality, ensuring that it stands out among its peers. The World Travel Award is a rewarding recognition of the Accra City Hotel’s philosophy of caring hospitality.

Mr. Yaw K. Mamphey, Sales and Marketing Manager of Accra City Hotel, received the trophy and certificate for winning the award from World Travel Award saying: “It has never been our intention to win awards, merely serving excellence every day to our guests. We pride ourselves on creating memorable experiences and offering authentic Hospitality to all our guests. We are very proud of this achievement of excellence and would like to thank our Guests for sharing their experiences at our beautiful hotel and rating us as excellent”.

“We are looking forward to improving our market positioning after receiving this award, it is a recognition and will further motivate us to enhance our services,” Yaw Mamphey added.

In terms of delivering continuous improvement, The Accra City Hotel has succeeded in many ways including the refurbishment of their food and beverage areas.

They show no signs of slowing down either, continuing on from the success of their refurbishment project, the General Manager reveals that preparations are underway for the addition of a magnificent new events area at Accra City Hotel which will host weddings, business events and other private parties.

General Manager of Accra City Hotel, Roman Krabel, said: “It is a great honour to receive this award that I want to celebrate with my team. I would like to thank them all for their hard work and customer-focus efforts, which enabled us to win the most globally respected award. Providing hospitality from the heart and high-quality service is what we do as part of our best experience pledge to the guests.”

“Whether they’re in front of house or behind the scenes every member of our team is an ambassador for our hotel and they share in this accolade. It’s not an award that can be bought and the assessment criteria are extremely tough.

“To win the award, our 4-star Accra City Hotel had to compete against all 5-star properties in Ghana providing strong competition in every category. Accra City Hotel is an organization that strives for excellence, excellence in terms of the guest experience and excellence in terms of how we operate our business” the General Manager added.

The 4-star Accra City Hotel is located in the heart of Accra, one of Africa’s most vibrant and exciting cities. Defined by cutting-edge design and a creative ambience, the chic lifestyle hotel offers 196 rooms with contemporary comforts.

With its finger on the city pulse, guests at Accra City Hotel can enjoy in-vogue gourmet dining experiences, sophisticated seminars and conferences and glamorous private parties, all complemented by gracious Ghanaian hospitality.

Source: myjoyonline.com

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has, in principle, agreed to a request by the Prime Minister of Barbados, Hon. Mia Amor Mottley, to send some three hundred and seventy-five Ghanaian nurses to Barbados to work in a number of their government medical facilities.

This came to the fore when President Akufo-Addo and Prime Minister Mottley held bilateral talks on Friday, 14th June 2019, in Bridgetown, Barbados, after the Ghanaian leader paid a day’s working visit to that country.

Addressing a press conference in the aftermath of the bilateral discussions, and with Barbados facing an acute nursing shortage, the Barbadian Prime Minister stated that “we have indicated that we are searching for just under 400 nurses, so it is not a small number, and we really do believe that this is a wonderful opportunity of co-operation between our two countries.”

In addition, she noted that there was also an initial promise to secure the nurses and provide joint education programmes going forward, all in an attempt to secure Barbados’ healthcare sector.

On his part, President Akufo-Addo indicated that “we have a surplus of nurses in Ghana, and placing them all in our public health system is one of my headaches. There have been a lot (of nurses) produced, which, for several years, we have not been able to do anything with.”

He continued, “So, I am going back. I will be back in Accra on Monday, and, the week after, the Prime Minister will hear from me on this matter of nurses.”

With President Akufo-Addo being the first leader of Ghana to visit Barbados, the two leaders agreed to reactivate a 2005 cultural, technical and scientific agreement signed between the two countries, an agreement which has been dormant for 14 years.

The discussions also touched on tourism and transportation, with Ghana and Barbados agreeing to work on an air services agreement, which will establish direct air links between the two countries, so as to boost trade and people-to-people contact.

On the issue of renewable energy, President Akufo-Addo expressed Ghana’s desire to collaborate with Barbados, a country which is giant in that field, and reiterated Ghana’s commitment to increase the renewable energy component of her energy generation mix.

As a demonstration of the close ties between Ghana and Barbados, the President expressed his commitment to the establishment of an Honorary Consulate in Barbados, with Barbados set to establish a High Commission in Accra by the end of 2019.

Source: Ghana.gov.gh

Ghana and Jamaica have both waived entry visa requirements for citizens wanting to travel to and from these two countries, with effect from 1st July 2019.

This was disclosed at a press conference addressed by the President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, and the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, after the two held bilateral discussions in Kingston, Jamaica, on Saturday, 15th June 2019, as part of President Akufo-Addo’s two-day official visit to Jamaica.

Stressing the importance of Ghana-Jamaica relations, the President indicated that the two nations have an excellent opportunity to building on their strong ties, imposed by culture and history, so as to derive maximum economic value for their respective populations.

“We cannot have visas standing in the way of those relations, so the decision has been taken by my government that, as Ghanaians benefit from visa-free arrangements here in Jamaica, we are also going to provide visa-free arrangements for Jamaicans in Ghana, to facilitate and also make it easier for you to come and join us for the ‘Year of Return’”, President Akufo-Addo added.

With the two leaders pledging to reactivate the Ghana-Jamaica Permanent Joint Commission for Co–operation, which has been dormant for some time, the President explained that, when properly structured, the Commission will serve as a legal framework for the doing of business between the two countries.

“Now, it has come to the time to give teeth to those relations by making sure the various areas of engagement in education, tourism and cultural activity are specifically tied down. That is really my purpose of coming here, apart from a mission to sensitize you in Jamaica about an event that we are commemorating this year,” he added.

Year of Return

Describing Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade as a “horrendous episode of human history”, President Akufo-Addo explained that Ghana is keen on commemorating this event, largely because a large number of slaves came through slave forts located in Ghana.

“We want to commemorate it, to be able to say together that never again will Africa and her people permit themselves to be subjugated to these types of dehumanizing and inhumane events. Never again!” he added

The President continued, “At the same time, we want to use the symbolism of this year to take concrete steps to solidify the relations of our kith and kin in the Americas and the Caribbean. The relationship that we are forming here in Jamaica will form part of the process of solidifying the relations between those of us on the continent of Africa and those of you in the diaspora, outside Africa.”

His visit to the Caribbean, President Akufo-Addo said, has been to “strengthen the relations across the water, and build the bridge that we have to build over the Atlantic so that we could find a way of strengthening each other in growing and empowering our economies, to play a more and more critical role in the new global architecture that is being drawn up now. We are going to have relations that are intimate.”

Source: Presidency.gov.gh

The President of the Republic, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has described Ghana as the safest country in West Africa, and, is, therefore, asking Africans in the Diaspora to come, explore and experience Ghana in this Year of Return.

Addressing the House of Assembly of St. Vincent and the Grenadines on Wednesday, 12th June, 2019, President Akufo-Addo stated that, “in today’s world, where sadly crime and terror have become part of everyday life, I can say that Ghana is certainly the safest country in the West African region, and remains one of the few places on earth where we are not embarrassed to see ourselves as each other’s keeper.”

Ghana, the President stressed, is full of stunning views and scenery that Ghanaians tend to take for granted, but which visitors find breath-taking.

“However, the most attractive and the greatest selling point of Ghana is and has always been her people, the Ghanaian people. The welcome that you find in Ghana, with all due respect to you in this House, is unique, and like none anywhere else,” he added.

The President continued, “Our foods are interesting, and tend to be once sampled, never forgotten. I suspect I do not need to remind you that we are the home of Kente, the fabric that has come to define the black race everywhere, and we lead in fashion on the continent. Our music is catchy and unforgettable, and the drums and rhythms make us stand out.”

President Akufo-Addo told the House that the Year of Return is being used as a bridge to build stronger ties between Ghana, those on the Continent, and the African Diaspora.

“To those of you who would want to come and stay, we say you are most welcome. Africa is your home, and Ghana would be happy to serve as the bridge between the Diaspora and the African continent,” he added.

The President, who is undertaking a 5-nation tour of the Caribbean as part of efforts to promote the “Year of Return, told the House of Assembly in St. Vincent and the Grenadines that 2019 marks the 400th anniversary of the first recorded arrival in America of West African slaves.

“We are remembering the anniversary to underline our determination that, never again, will Africa allow herself and her people to be subjected to such an obscene, degrading and dehumanizing catastrophe”, President Akufo-Addo said.

He continued, “Never again shall it be that a dozen or so armed foreigners, with the connivance of a few of our own people, would reduce Africans to traded commodities.”

With the African Union designating the African Diaspora as the 6th Region of the AU, President Akufo-Addo stressed that “they might have started as slaves, but the contribution of Africans to the development of the Americas and Caribbean is matchless.”

With Africans in the Diaspora having provided the labour that built American railways and American industries and, generally, American infrastructure, as well as those of the Caribbean, the President also referred to the role of Africans in innovation, in science, in sports, in music, in the arts, and in the fashioning of the Americas and the Caribbean.

Inventions that Africans in the Americas have to their names, he said, include, the fibre-optic cable, the pacemaker, blood bank, gas masks, traffic signals, world’s fastest computer, Voice over IP, closed-circuit television, amongst others.

In the sporting world, President Akufo-Addo added that Africans in the diaspora have shown that they are not afraid of hard work and discipline, with football, athletics, basketball, and many other games having been taken to new heights as a result of the efforts of the descendants of those who were forcibly transported to the Americas.

“It says on the last door leading out of the dungeon from the slave castles that dot our coastline, DOOR OF NO RETURN. Let us show we CAN return, we have returned, and we have conquered the humiliation and degradation of 400 years ago,” President Akufo-Addo added.

The Home Coming and Investment Summit, the African-American Investment Forum, the Pan-African and Emancipation Day Celebrations, the durbar from Jamestown to Jamestown, the Film Festival, and the Full Circle Festival are some of the activities that will be held to commemorate the year-long event.