Press spotlights plans to attract 2m international arrivals to Ghana, others

Press spotlights plans to attract 2m international arrivals to Ghana, others
APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that President Akufo-Addo has stated that Ghana is working towards attracting two million international arrivals that will culminate in a $4 billion spending impact by 2025 is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that as part of measures to make tourism play its leading role in the economic progress of the country, Ghana is working towards attracting two million international arrivals that will culminate in a $4 billion spending impact by 2025, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has stated.
He said as part of the measures put in place, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture had been charged with ramping up its promotional activities, policies and programmes to achieve the target.
President Akufo-Addo announced this yesterday at the first-ever Presidential Summit on Tourism at the Peduase Presidential Lodge in the Eastern Region.
The two-day summit being organised at the instance of the President attracted participants from all government agencies and departments, as well as private sector stakeholders in the industry to the brainstorming session.
It is on the theme: “Rethinking Tourism for Economic Growth and Job Creation”.
In what is described as rare among presidential correspondents from various media houses, President Akufo-Addo after the opening ceremony and all the activities, sat in for the presentation of papers, panel discussions and the questions and answers.
Globally, is estimated that by 2033 every 10 jobs will be created by the tourism sector.
Referring to data, President Akufo-Addo indicated that the tourism sector was growing once again following the lull caused by COVID-19.
The newspaper says that about 11 million active Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) cards yet to be re-registered with the Ghana Card risk disconnection and deletion tomorrow as the deadline for the exercise expires today.
Following this development, hundreds of people, majority of whom are trying to register their SIMs for the first time, have thronged some National Identification Authority (NIA) centres in a desperate attempt to secure their Ghana Card.
The national card is the only prerequisite identification document admissible for the completion of the re-registration of SIM cards.
When the Daily Graphic visited some of the NIA centres, including the Premium Centre of the authority at its head office at Shiashie, Accra and other premium centres in some regions, there were long queues of last-minute card acquirers dashing to complete the process.
Many of the subscribers had come to link their Ghana Card with their SIM cards to satisfy the NCA requirement before the May 31 deadline.
While the centre with the capacity to process 650 applications sees no crowds, the long queues at the place has compelled the NIA to erect canopies outside its halls to accommodate the increasing numbers.
The Executive Secretary of NIA, Professor Ken Agyeman Attafuah, expressed regret that such a large number of people would rush to pay a premium fee of GH¢280 for a service they could have accessed for free a few weeks back.
He said it was the attitude of some people to relax in obtaining the Ghana Card until the deadlines were near.
The Ghanaian Times reports that members of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG) have returned to work after the suspension of their strike.
The members were seen going about their normal duties as they attended to clients.
JUSAG embarked on a nationwide strike, blaming government of failing to implement revised salary and allowances for its members since January 2023, despite repeated reminders.
But after a meeting with the government on Monday, the association suspended its strike for two weeks.
The General Secretary of JUSAG, Abdulai Yakubu, expressed hope that the payment timelines would be adhered to.
“Yes, we ordered our members to return to work, after we had the right assurance from the government. I went round the courts to ensure that indeed our members return to work. We have honoured our side of the bargain and hoping that government will also do same… By June 12, we expect that the negotiation processes would have been completed, approvals forwarded to Controller and Accountant General’s Department. If it’s not done, JUSAG shall advise itself,” Abdulai Yakubu stated.
Meanwhile, some court clients are calling on government to consider the plea of JUSAG to avert a second strike.
The newspaper says that about 300 illegal miners, popularly called “galamseyers” have been trapped in one of the shafts belonging to AngloGold’s Obuasi Mines in Anwiam, in the Obuasi East District of Ashanti.
They were said to have entered the underground shaft in search of gold deposits, but could not exit when all escape routes were closed off.
Interestingly, the illegal miners have declined to use an only exit available for escape due to the fact that they could be arrested by the authorities.
They are said to have been underground for the past four days.
One of the victims, who gave his name as Ali Tijani, claimed that some of his fellow colleagues were unconscious due to the lack of food and water.
He said “we went to the AngloGold mine to work, but the place was closed down. For four days now, we have been trapped inside without any access to food or water.
“Despite our desperate pleas, they refuse to provide us with water. We are a group of around 300 individuals who ventured into the mine voluntarily,” he stated.
According to Tijani, “we have no other means of employment, which is why we resorted to mining to support ourselves and our families.”
But, AngloGold Ashanti, in a statement issued and signed by its Managing Director, Eric Asubonteng yestrerday said no person underground has been confined in any way and the main exit ramp from the mine remained open.
The statement encouraged any unauthorised person underground to leave the mine at any time by the exit points where public security personnel remained on standby.
According to the statement, “it has come to the notice of the company that some illegal miners may have been trapped underground in the northern areas of the mine, remote from current active mining areas.”
It said that “unauthorised persons underground are able to exit on foot, via the existing ramp, through the main access of this mining area.”
Stressing that “yesterday, seven illegal miners exited through this main access point on foot and are in the custody of the Ghana Police Service.”
The statement mentioned that intrusion of illegal miners into underground areas remained a significantly dangerous activity and AngloGold Ashanti Ghana was working alongside authorities to ensure that only authorised mine personnel and contractors could access underground work areas.
“The safety and security of our employees and community members remain our top priority and AngloGold Ashanti Ghana stands ready to provide any assistance required by the authorities in ensuring the safe exit of any unauthorised persons underground,” it indicated.
GIK/APA