North Tongu Member of Parliament, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has praised the government for it’s Year of Return declaration.
According to him, the initiative has placed the country in the good graces of Africans in the diaspora and raised the reputation of the country.
“It’s branded Ghana beyond what we could pay for. We had a whole congressional delegation and as Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I met some of these delegations, the Prime Minister of Barbados and when you hear them, the excitement and the connection to Ghana, it’s been fantastic,” he told Kojo Yankson on the Super Morning Show on Joy FM, Tuesday.
Mr Ablakwa urged the government to maintain the initiative and sustain the momentum it has created.
“Of course there have been other issues of exaggerated data but we can put that aside and celebrate the Year of Return for what it has come to represent,” he added.
The ranking member said regardless of the challenges he believes that the country could not have declared a better celebration adding that “we can all share our thoughts on what can be done to improve the celebrations as we reach a climax.”
About Year of Return It has been exactly 400 years since the first black slaves landed in Jamestown Virginia in the US. Ghana initiated the Year of Return to invite all diasporans back home to not only learn more but explore and even invest in the country. Since this initiative began many African Americans have made their way into the country to learn more about their history. Some include Steve Harvey, Samuel L Jackson, Anthony Anderson, Micheal Jai White, Boris Kodjoe, Nicole Ari Parker, Diggy Simmons and many others. The Tourism Ministry outlined numerous activities including the ‘December in Ghana’ events to bring the Year of Return to a fruitful end. The programme includes Afro Nation, Afrochella, Gold Coast Experience, Full Circle festival, Ghana Festival of Light and many others. The Way ForwardGovernment is hoping to launch an initiative that would take over the Year of Return.
The initiative dubbed ‘Beyond The Year of Return - a Birthright’ was announced by the president at his recent media encounter.
The government intends to implement a campaign-oriented project, “Beyond the Year of Return – a Birthright,” over a ten-year-period to continuously carry out activities to sustain the Diaspora relationship and build on the positive impact of the initiative.
Latest Stories
-
I’ve really worked well as Veep; vote for me as President – Bawumia to traders
1 min -
There’s something mysteriously amiss somewhere about ongoing ‘dumsor’ – Gabby Otchere-Darko
14 mins -
South Africa: Team Western Cape wins National Primary School Track and Field Championships
29 mins -
Chale Wote Street Art Festival: A call for artists ahead of 2024 edition
2 hours -
Floods: We’re exposed but my team and I are ‘running’ to catch up – Oppong Nkrumah
2 hours -
5 traits of sweet, committed men that may seem like red flags at first
4 hours -
We met on Twitter and our first date was a week-long road trip
4 hours -
The biggest mistake people make when meeting someone in person after talking online
4 hours -
I traveled 500 miles for a first date
4 hours -
My cousin saved my life and she never knew
4 hours -
Top UN court orders Israel to allow food and medical aid into Gaza
4 hours -
Fallen ‘Crypto King’ Sam Bankman-Fried gets 25 years for fraud
5 hours -
The architecture we have used to tackle housing deficit has not been robust enough – Oppong Nkrumah
5 hours -
Government suspends implementation of price Stabilisation and Recovery levy on petroleum products
6 hours -
Takoradi traders lament over low sales ahead of Easter
7 hours