Patrons of this year’s paragliding festival can expect to have a hitch-free experience as organizers have moved to improve on previous experiences.

For instance, all four pilots can now take off at the same time, instead of the usual one-at-a-time take off sessions.

Expansion works have been carried out at the site, more washrooms and pavilions have been constructed, and enough chairs provided for patrons’ comfort.

Ed Stein, a veteran pilot who is the team leader and has been flying patrons since the festival was launched 13 years ago, in an interview with Citi News described the renovated site as the best in the world.

“I am very impressed with the speed of renovation exercise carried out here by the tourism ministry, last year [2017], when I came to fly people, the site was not like this, only a pilot could take off at a time, but with the expansion works here 4 other pilots can all take off at a go, and I must say once again I am really impressed”.

“I can confidently say with my experience at different countries and paragliding sites in the world that the Kwahu site here in Ghana is the best and am looking forward to another exciting experience”.

As patrons troop in from all corners of the country, the Eastern Regional Public Relations Officer of the Ghana Police Service, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, announced that over 500 hundred personnel from the Ghana Police Service and the military have been deployed to ensure security at Kwahu.

“A combined team of 500 men from both the police and military are on the ground to provide maximum security, we have a strong group from the CTU, FPU and crowd control unit firmly positioned at every vantage points and several plain cloth men and CID are also patrolling 24 hours to ensure visibility here”.

“We are aware certain criminals and individuals would want to take advantage of the occasion to rob people, but we want to assure patrons here we are in control and we will ensure their safety at all times”.

Frederick Rudolph – Adjei, the Eastern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourism Authority, also indicated that the Ghana Airforce is on standby to airlift patrons in case of an emergency.

“Adequate measures and planning have been instituted to ensure that patrons are served with the best experience this year, we have been improving every year, and we will not stop at maintaining and becoming the best. The Airforce base in Accra is currently on standby to airlift patrons in an emergency, they have been constantly contacting their men stationed here for updates, and we want to assure patrons to feel at home, relax and enjoy the experience”.

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku, who was optimistic about the success of the event asked the media to help sell out the site to the rest of the world.

“You are witnesses to the nice edifice we have constructed here, we do not want to enjoy paragliding only during Easter festival so we are putting in a lot of efforts for the training of our Ghanaian pilots. Two of them for the first time flew solo today. The rest of it is on the media to tell all the stories here to the world for all paragliding fans in the world to also come to Ghana to experience this amazing site and feeling in Kwahu”.

She added that, “we have the disease of not managing or maintaining things well, so I am calling on us all to be vigilant and observant to ensure we all keep the site well and maintain it well for it is a collective effort”.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 2018 Kwahu Easter paragliding festival kicks off [Photos] appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

According to the Service, all regional commanders have been tasked to deploy officers to densely populated events.

Speaking to Citi News, Director-General of Public Affairs of the Ghana Police Service, ACP David Eklu, assured Ghanaians of an incident-free Easter season.

[contextly_sidebar id=”XOBzEQTCk5tKFoKoa5fU2JTEs73FRhHV”]“This year, we are deploying not less than 10,000 police officers across the country to make sure that we give the necessary protection to people who will be celebrating the festival. One of the measures we have done is that all the police regional commanders have been directed to deploy in areas that will require a lot of people. For example, places where people will be holding conventions, Easter festivities, picnics and other activities,” he said.

A number of Ghanaians usually visit Kwahu in the Eastern Region to celebrate the Easter season due to the number of activities that are organized there, such as the Paragliding Festival.

According to ACP Eklu, a team from the Police headquarters in Accra will move to the area on Thursday to provide adequate security for people who will visit Kwahu to celebrate the Easter.

“…We are also deploying a specialized team from the headquarters to Kwahu because of the high interest in Easter celebrations there. Personnel from the specialized unit; SWAT, Formed Police Unit and the other units will be leaving Accra to that place. So we have a comprehensive arrangement to ensure maximum security during the Easter season,” the Police Public Affairs Director-General noted.

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
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The two, a police officer with the Nkawkaw District, and a driver of GCB, were pronounced dead on arrival at the Atibie Government Hospital.

Confirming the accident to Citi News, the Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, stated that the Police is yet to ascertain what actually caused the accident.

“On 20th December 2017 at about 9:45am, a Ghana Commercial Bank Nissan pick-up vehicle with registration number GN 8556-15 driven by Paul Koranteng 43 years, together with three other persons on board including two Police personnel from Nkawkaw, namely Cpl. Nathaniel Afriyie Marfo and Cpl. Frederick Addai, were on specific duty from Nkawkaw to Donkorkrom, and on reaching a section of Kwahu Tafo – Adawso motor road, the vehicle veered from its lane into the opposite lane, and in the process collided with a Mercedes Benz bus with registration number GT- 724 F driven by a driver yet to be identified”.

“Occupants of both vehicles however sustained injuries and were rushed to Kwahu Government Hospital, Atibie, for medical treatment.

But on reaching the hospital, one Police officer, Cpl. Nathaniel Afriyie Marfo, together with the GCB Driver, Paul Koranteng, were pronounced dead on arrival by the Medical Doctor on duty.”

The bodies have been deposited at the Atibie Hospital morgue awaiting autopsy, while the accident vehicles are yet to be towed to the station for further investigation.

ASP Ebenezer Tetteh added that, the money on board the bullion vehicle was successfully retrieved.

“Another bullion vehicle escorted by Police personnel from Nkwakwa was immediately dispatched to the scene to retrieve the money from the Bullion vehicle in the accident. In all, a total sum of GHC450,000.00, the property of GCB, was rescued from the accident scene under heavy Police presence”.

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By: Neil Nii Amartey Kanaku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Police, GCB Driver die in Bullion van crash at Kwahu appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

A committee set up by the Kwahu Traditional Council has so far registered more than twenty-thousand cattle owned by over two hundred people.

The move is to mobilize the cattle and ranch them in fodder banks to prevent them from grazing on farmlands.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TnvnrpLDjPZuv7ofVuuvxKy8m6nLPloR”]Speaking to Citi News, head of the Steering committee, Zenu Bawa, however, indicated that, some of the cattle owners are under-declaring their cattle to evade tax obligations from the Ghana Revenue Authority.

“We’ve realized that some of owners do under declare the number of their cattle, mainly because they thought that we were doing it to give the information to GRA to tax them. Unfortunately that is not the issue.  What we are doing is to resolve a security problem – it is to end the conflict between crop farmers and cattle farmers.”

He noted that his outfit has been able to intensify education for the 225 cattle owners, adding that they are hoping to get accurate figures to aid in decision making.

“We have taken steps to do those corrections and some of the owners understand that whatever quantity they give to us, the decision is going to be based on that. Because the 2,268 acres of land is largely inadequate to absolve even the current number that we have which is about 24,377 cattle population that we’ve registered. The owners are 225 people. We are going to contact each of these owners to give us a clearer picture because we have now taken the steps to educate them to make them understand that the information they have given us is largely inaccurate,” he added.

Background

About eight people lost their lives with several others sustaining injuries in separate reprisal attacks at Dwibease and Wheewhee communities about a fortnight ago.

The Eastern Regional Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ebenezer Tetteh, in a Citi News interview said some have blamed the reprisal attacks on alleged destruction of farmlands by the cattle belonging to the nomadic herdsmen.

“Reasons for the killings are yet to be known, but with the history between herdsmen and residents in Kwahu, it can be linked to the destruction of farmlands by cattle.”

E/Region: Operation cow leg to return

Meanwhile, the Eastern Regional Security Council is considering a revival of ‘Operation Cow Leg’ to address conflicts between mostly local farmers and nomadic herdsmen.

As part of the operation, Police and Military will be deployed to patrol the Kwahu enclave to avert clashes.

This approach to fighting the menace in the era of then President Kufuor, has been criticized as not being effective.

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By: Farida Shaibu/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Briefing the media after a stakeholders’ meeting with the chiefs, cattle owners and the nomadic herdsmen at Kwahu Mpraeso to find lasting solutions to the clashes, the Minister asked the teachers to return to post.

“There is apparent peace there even though the whole area has been abandoned, the security men are patrolling the area and from the interactions that we have had, we believe strongly that schools can commence their normal activities. I have instructed the District Education Director to inform all the teachers in the enclave to come back.”

“When we got there, you saw that the kids were willing and ready to go back to school, but the teachers are not available because of these attacks.”

The Minister also assured the residents of their safety as he considers measures to add more security personnel.

“We are monitoring the security situation so the personnel here will be on duty for some time and I am calling on more men to be deployed there as reinforcement. The schools are located at vantage points, but the communities have been scattered all over and the kids are not having access to the schools, so I am thinking that more police officers should be deployed to the other areas and provide protection for the schools and even accompany the kids.”

Eric Kwakye Darfour, who also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Nkawkaw, assured the people of government’s commitment to address the issues between the locals and the herdsmen.

“Government will not massage issues but will deal with the issues, 10 people are already dead, so this is not the time to massage issues. The herdsmen together with their leaders are here, and they all want to corporate to bring an end to the impasse.”

The Minister then warned of strict sanctions against herdsmen who do not conform to measures that will be agreed on.

“If they do not comply or conform there will be a policy or law that will compel them to do so, but am sure they do not want us to get to that extent because those who do not conform will be forced to do so.”

On his part, the Education Director of Kwahu East District, Kwasi Boafo, said the ministers assurance of the safety of the teachers will be conveyed.

“This issue has really affected education here because we need a stable environment to enhance teaching and learning. The teachers have taken cover for the fear of being caught up in the attacks, but once the Eastern Regional Minister has given the assurance that the place is now safe, I will take his word.”

He then called for a more sustainable effort to ensure the safety of residents.

“This is not the first time we have had instances like these, some few months ago schools were closed down in this same area, we came and talked about it and this is where we are now, no action was taken and the effects have escalated. Residents are afraid so we should find a more sustainable way of beefing up security to ensure the safety of residents to get back to their normal daily activities.”

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post E/R: Minister urges teachers to return to school after clashes appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

There was tension at Kwahu-Abene over the supposed enstoolment of renowned pathologist, Professor Agyeman Badu Akosa as the chief of Kwahu-Abene.

Some chiefs and heads of families including the Acting Paramount chief of Kwahuman, Nana Asiedu Agyemang III have questioned the enstoolment alleging that the practice was uncustomary.

The police are currently providing adequate security in the area to forestall any reprisal attacks.

“Opinion leaders of Kwahu both home and abroad must consider the happenings at Abene as an unfortunate situation and approach it with the alacrity it deserves.  No matter where you come from, whether from Obo, Nkwatia, Pepiase or any part of Kwahuland, we know the contributions to our land as you have always been development partners for the area,” the group said in a statement.

The youth group in the statement further called for  calm and appealed to the stakeholders to adopt dialogue in resolving the issue instead of attacks and destruction of properties.

“We also wish to call on the traditional authorities to resolve the issue through dialogue rather than physical attack which is truncating the peace and security of our land. This misunderstanding is not above the Chiefs in the Kwahu Traditional Council,” they added.

Below is the full statement from the youth group:

Kwahu Youth for Social Development

WE CALL FOR CALM AT KWAHU ABENE AND KWAHUMAN AS A WHOLE

We, the leadership of Kwahu Youth for Social Development and the entire group wish to call for calm at Kwahu Abene. The happenings are regrettable and must not be justified by any group whatsoever.

As one people, the peace and stability enjoyed by all must not be sacrificed for the interest of any individual or group. One of the things we are known for as Kwahus is our love for peace and living in harmony with one another. Public disorder has never been part of Kwahuman and we don’t want to be associated with it. We must confess that the news came to us as a shock.

We also wish to thank the Police Service for its swift intervention to prevent the worsening of the situation. Notwithstanding, there is still some amount of apprehension as some people are still living in bushes and properties are being destroyed in the town. This requires a security beef up and giving the aboriginals maximum protection.

We are also calling on the youth who are taking advantage of the situation to destroy properties and steal personal possessions to desist from that practice.

We also wish to call on the traditional authorities to resolve the issue through dialogue rather than physical attack which is truncating the peace and security of our land. This misunderstanding is not above the Chiefs in the Kwahu Traditional Council.

Opinion leaders of Kwahu both home and abroad must consider the happenings at Abene as an unfortunate situation and approach it with the alacrity it deserves.  No matter where you come from, whether from Obo, Nkwatia, Pepiase or any part of Kwahuland, we know the contributions to our land as you have always been development partners for the area.

We, as a group do not take side. All we want is peace and harmony.

We believe Kwahu is one of the peaceful places within the country. The common development we all wish for Kwahu can only be a realized when there is peace and stability.

Long Live Kwahu Youth for Social Development.

Long Live Kwahuman.

Long live Ghana.

Thank you all.

Signed

Justice Yeboah

Ag President

Tettey Solomon

Secretary

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By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Kwahu chieftaincy dispute ‘regrettable’ – Youth appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

In an interview with Citi News at the grand opening of this year’s Kwahu Easter Paragliding Festival, the Minister of Tourism Arts and Culture, Catherine Afeku, said the training school will help nurture prospective pilots.

“We are in talks to establish the pilot training school to help nurture indigenous people, you know there are a lot of Ghanaians interested in learning so we have spoken to the pilots from USA who have agreed to train our local people. Three of the pilots have their own schools in USA so it won’t be difficult.”

Madame Afeku added that, the youth who will go through the training will get jobs as well, adding that “our youth who will have the chance to be trained in this program will also be employed and this will reduce the unemployment rate in the country. We turn to have a lot of foreign nationals who visit the country day in day out, and not only during Easter, so this will also boost the tourism sector and bring foreign exchange”.

She added that, the initiative will be a legacy the Akufo-Addo government wants to leave behind.

“The establishment of the school will be a thing Ghanaians especially people of Kwahu will forever be grateful for and this will be one of President Nana Addo’s legacies,” she said.

On his part, the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, who was also at the opening ceremony. shared his excitement with Citi News.

He said “the people of Kwahu will always welcome people from all shades of life to come and experience how Easter is well celebrated in the world, Kwahu is Easter and Easter is Kwahu, you cannot enjoy the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus without coming to Kwahu.”

The Director of Ghana AIDS Commission in the Eastern Region, Madame Golda Asante, in an interview with Citi News also encouraged patrons to take advantage of the celebration and know their status.

She said “we are having a free Aids screening and counselling for everyone here in Kwahu, so we are urging everybody here to cease this opportunity to know his or her status before they leave here. We always advice that when you know your status you then take precautionary measures to live .”

She also advised the youth to abstain from unplanned sexual activities, “my advice to youth is that they should try and abstain from any sexual act and stick to their books, but they should also be guided to use the condom to avoid contracting infections and pregnancy.”

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/ citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ghana to have paragliding school soon – Tourism Minister appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

She was accompanied by the Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, and the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Djaba.

The paragliding festival was introduced more than a decade ago to promote tourism in the country, and also to spice up the Easter celebrations in Kwahu.

Thousands of people throng Kwahu annually to celebrate the Easter festivity.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post 2017 Kwahu Easter Paragliding festival launched [Photos]    appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Addressing chiefs and people of the Kwahu Traditional Area of the Eastern Region as part of his Thank you Tour, Akufo-Addo assured that he will fulfill all the promises he made prior to his election.

“The NPP is for the people of Kwahu, Nananom be patient for your government is in power now, with your help, support and prayers, we will go through with the one district one factory policy as soon as possible to bring jobs to the youth. Bawumia and myself will bring smiles back to the people again and Ghanaians will be happy for we have the manpower, expertise and resources in this country to do all what we have promised.”

The President-Elect was thankful to the Kwahu Traditional Council and the entire people of Kwahu for their support in the December 7th elections.

Acting Head of the Kwahu Traditional Council, who doubles as the Abetifi and Adonteng Chief, Nana Asiedu Agyemang, in a welcome address assured Nana Addo of the full support and cooperation of the Council.

“We congratulate you for your efforts during the campaign period which has earned you the presidency. History has it that your grandfather Joseph Boakye Dankwah schooled and lived his life here at Kwahu Bepong, the very ground you stand on today; so you are indeed one of our own, we pledge our support to you and we will pray to the gods to help and guide you with wisdom and protection to govern our country”.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Ghanaians will be happy again – Nana Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Chief made the appeal when the president-elect visited the area as part of his thank you tour of the Eastern Region.

Nana Somuah Mireku Nyampong III, who spoke on behalf of the Kwahu Traditional Council, said their appeal is necessary because they have stood by the NPP over the years.

“Kwahuman has never disappointed, rejected or neglected the NPP party ever, we have been loyal to the NPP party over the years and we will continue to stay loyal. So Nana Addo, if we have voted you into office please turn to us and consider the people of Kwahu.”

“…We have a lot of young intelligent, energetic graduates and academicians who come from Kwahu in this country. Mr President-elect please consider our children in your ministerial and presidential appointments, when the time comes because we the Kwahus have lacked citizens in government positions even though we have remained loyal to the NPP for so many years. Award Okwahuman by making some of our children presidential staffers and we will forever be grateful,” he added.

Construct our roads too

The Chief also requested for the construction of roads and a bridge on the Afram Plains River.

On his part, Akufo-Addo thanked the people of Kwahu for supporting him. He also assured them he will ffulfill promises he made to them during his campaign tour of the Eastern Region.

“The NPP is for the people of Kwahu, Nananom be patient for your government is in power now, with your help, support and prayers we will go through with the one district one factory policy as soon as possible to bring jobs to the youth. Bawumia and myself will bring smiles back to the people again and Ghanaians will be happy for we have the manpower, expertise and resources in this country, to do all what we have promised,” he added.

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By: Neil Nii Amatey Kanarku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Consider Kwahus for positions – Kwahu Chiefs beg Nana Addo appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.