The author is the CNN/Multichoice African Journalist for Arts and Culture and also the Ghana Journalists Association’s 2010 Best Journalist for Arts and Tourism.

Under the chairmanship of Dr. Sulley Gariba of the office of the Vice President, the launch ceremony saw culture at its best with the display of Northern dances by the Ghana Dance Ensemble while delicacies such as koosey, kuklikuli and pito were served.

In his review Mr. David Odoi, a Senior Lecturer of the Language Centre at the University of Ghana said the conversational and crisp style of the book gives the sense of the familiar thereby breaking the mysticism that surrounds the North. Mr. Odoi describes A Sense of Savannah as a travelogue, a narrative, a tourist guide, a reference book on domestic tourism and a work filled with humour. Therefore, he added, ‘we no longer need foreign websites to tell our own story of what Northern Ghana looks like’.

Launching the book Mr. K.B. Asante, a retired educationist and Diplomat said it is anti-developmental that sections of a country are perceived as a Siberia. Mr Asante paid tribute to emerging young writers adding that by venturing out to such unfamiliar destinations and writing vividly about them the author has produced a priceless legacy.

In his closing remarks Dr Sulley Gariba said works such as A Sense of Savannah offer the nation a new way of re-tooling our approach to bringing development to deprived areas. He noted that the essence of the new book resonates with the ideals of the Savannah Accelerated Development Programme.

Also present at the event were the Executive Director of the Ghana Tourist Board, Mr Julius Debrah, General Secretary of the Ghana Journalist Association, Bright Blewu and the Regional Cultural Advisor of UNESCO, Madam Moji Okuribido.

In his own remarks after the launch, Kofi Akpabli said the book is like giving back to society since he started freelancing when he did National Service in Paga. He said information about less known tourist destinations such as those found in the North is useful. "Registering the heartbeat of the places, the smell of the events and the colour of the people’s aspirations enriches the experience of the visitor. Capturing the essence of this is what A Sense of Savannah is about" he said.

END

‘By converting tourist information to a delightful, narrative piece, the author has blazed the trail for the travel writing genre in Ghana’- Ghana Review International

Mrs Dansua intends to pursue an aggressive tourism development project she says must transform the sector.

She met with news editors Friday to put her plans before them, solicit their input and court their support.

Giving an overview of some of the problems militating against the development of the sector – which she intends to tackle head-on – the minister said the perilous nature of road travel, coupled with high domestic airfares, were seriously undermining efforts to increase the numbers of tourism arrivals in the country. This, she said had been compounded by the difficult-to-access nature of some of the tourist sites.

Inadequate marketing and branding, in her view, negatively affects the growth of the sector which is the fourth largest foreign exchange earner in the country.

To address these challenges, Ms Sena Dansua said an ultra-modern Tourism Information Centre, expected to be completed by October this year, was being constructed in Accra.

Recognizing that there can never be enough funding from central government, the tourism minister said a Ghana Tourism Development Fund to source and pool resources from donors and the private sector, was in the works.

She is not impressed that the collaboration between the private and public sectors in the development of tourism is weak, and indicated her desire to strengthen the collaboration.

Ms Sena Dansua, who is also the Member of Parliament for North Dayi in the Volta Region, said she was also concerned with the preponderance of sensational journalism, arguing that such media reports can create a non-existent bleak atmosphere in the country and which will scare potential tourists.

As many as thirty five invited foreign pilots have been paragliding together with other revellers at the event.

Speaking to Joy News, the Deputy Tourism Minister, James Agyenim-Boateng who underwent a paragliding session, said the ministry would push for an increase in the number of times the paragliding festival is organised.

The deputy minister described the experience as awesome and exciting.

Meanwhile as Ghanaians mark Good Friday, many people have travelled to their hometowns to mark the Easter holidays.

One group that has benefited are transport operators who say the festive Easter season has been good for business and provided an opportunity to make good profit.

A Director with one of the transport operators, VIP Transport, Richard Kusi has told Joy News returns have been good so far.

He said about 80 buses leave Accra for Kumasi daily on normal days but the number had increased dramatically as a result of the Easter.

Joy News checks with the various terminals revealed that majority of persons travelling are heading to Kwahu in the Eastern region.

In another development, President Mills has cautioned motorists against speeding even as they partake in the Easter festivities.

He urged them to endeavour to keep to speed limits and respect traffic regulations in order to prevent wanton loss of precious lives.

Source: Joy News/Ghana

A statement issued by the Tourism Ministry said, “This year’s event promises to be extra exciting, with about 32 pilots from seven countries including Germany, USA, Switzerland, and South Africa. A host of participants from as far as the Northern Region are also expected to be present.”

This year’s is the 6th edition of the festival which is one of the high profile tourist events on the country’s tourism calendar.

The Tourism Ministry says this year’s event will also see a durbar of chiefs from the Kwahu Traditional area to be held on Saturday, April 23.

“The opening ceremony, which would be performed by the Tourism Minister, Mrs. Akua Sena Dansua is on Friday, April 22. The Ministry of Tourism and its agencies, especially the Ghana Tourist Board, entreat Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of taking a vacation by partaking in the celebrations.”

It appealed tourists to “exercise the highest level of morality, decency, and moderation in all activities they embark on in the area during the period. We also appeal to all road users to drive with care, avoid over speeding and unnecessary overtaking, avoid drink-driving, and adhere to road traffic regulations.”

Source: Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

The news dashes the hopes of those who believed they were eligible for the next step in obtaining one of the coveted "green card" lottery visas and gives a second, if remote, chance to the rest of the 19.6 million people who had applied.

Because of a computer programing error, 90 percent of the winners were selected from the first two days of applications rather than from the entire 30-day registration period.

"We sincerely regret any inconvenience or disappointment this problem might have caused," David Donahue, the State Department official who oversees the program, told reporters.

He said that the problem had been fixed and the results of the new drawing from among the same 19.6 million people who applied were expected to be available around July 15.

Under the Diversity Immigrant Visa Program, the U.S. government makes available some 50,000 visas each year drawn randomly to people who come from countries with low rates of immigration to the United States.

The lottery gives the winners the opportunity to immigrate without having a family member or an employer sponsor them -- the typical route to a U.S. "green card" denoting permanent residency.

Donahue said the U.S. government wrote the malfunctioning computer program.

Another U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said no one will be disciplined for the error.

Source: Reuters

This is because the two warrior (or Asafo) groups in the town cannot agree on which of them is mandated to go on the deer hunt, which is the highlight of the festival.

As a result, the Efutu Traditional Council has reportedly voted to suspend the festival which was due to start from Sunday, May 1.

Omanhene of the Effutu Traditional Area, Neenyi Ghartey told Joy News the decision was taken to prevent a repeat of last year’s violence between the two warrior groups.

“The traditional council met and reviewed events following what happened last year.

“There is a tendency that what happened last year might be revisited. We value lives so we have decided that the festival be called off so that we can have time to make proper peace between the factions in the asafo,” he said.

Even though he admitted that efforts have been made to resolve the crisis, nothing substantial has been achieved.

However, the Stool father for the Effutu State, Neenyi Bondzi insists that the festival has not been canceled.

He told Joy News the festival will go on as scheduled, insisting, the police will be notified to provide protection when necessary.

Source: Joy News/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

The government is to approve a plan by Central Japan Railway Co. to construct a line for a magnetically levitated train between its two largest cities, Tokyo and Osaka, suggests a recently released report. Japan will be the first nation to build a major, high-speed maglev route and hopes to be able to export the technology once it has been perfected.

Japan is famously the developer of the bullet train system, which can trace its genesis as far back as 1964 but is still regarded as one of the best high-speed mass transit systems in the world, but wants to get in ahead of the competition for the next generation of trains.

The maglev is designed to have a top speed of 500 kph and will travel the 438 km between the nation's business hubs in a mere 67 minutes, an impressive 51 minutes faster than the most advanced bullet trains of today. And by starting from central Tokyo and depositing passengers in the heart of Osaka, the developers say it will be more convenient than flying between the two cities because of the time needed to get to the airports at each end of the journey.

A panel under Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is examining the route proposed for the new line by JR Tokai. The plan is for a track that runs through the mountain chain known as the Southern Alps to the northwest of Mount Fuji.

The railway company has been asked to come up with a firm proposal on the exact route and the location of stations before construction starts in 2014. The first maglev could be operational as soon as 2027, linking Tokyo with the city of Nagoya, which is roughly halfway between Tokyo and Osaka. The full service would be launched in 2045.

The new lines will cost Y8.44 trillion (€70.4 billion).

Research on the new technology has been under way for several decades and JR has a test track in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, where a test train reached a speed of 581 kph in 2003. If the vehicle that goes into service is capable of those speeds, it will be the fastest passenger train in the world.

The vehicle has no wheels - doing away with friction and, hence, providing a smoother and quieter ride at a faster speed - and is propelled along a track through electromagnetic pull.

At present, a maglev train operates in Shanghai and another version was studied in 1994 to link Berlin and Hamburg, although that plan was scrapped because of the high construction costs and a lack of demand on the route.

JR Tokai points out that bullet train technology will be 60 years old by 2025 - although it is constantly being enhanced and improved upon - while maglev technology is less polluting than flights that presently link the cities

Some items including ‘T’ shirts, vuvuzelas and MTN cards worth GH¢ 1,000.00, were presented to the council by Mr. Samuel Appiah, the MTN Regional Manager in charge of Western and Central Regions.

He told the Council that the MTN had invested over $90 million in the West African Cable System (WACS) submarine network to enable its subscribers, particularly fishermen at sea to get the best of network services during their operations and appealed to the chiefs to permit them to deploy the cables when the time comes.

Mr Appiah also urged the people of Elmina to avail themselves to the opportunities being offered by the MTN Business Solutions launched recently to offer enterprises and individuals ICT support to boost their businesses.

He recounted the socio-economic benefits of festivals saying they display the country’s rich culture and history to the outside world and pledged his company’s continued assistance.

He urged all subscribers who are yet to register their SIM cards to do so before the deadline to stay connected.

Apart from the donation, the MTN would also sponsor the Regatta, the community football gala, the state durbar and other activities.

The Omanhene of Edina Traditional Area, Nana Kojo Conduah VI, who received the items, expressed gratitude to the company for the goodwill and its continued support towards the festival and added that MTN’s coverage on the high seas had been of immense benefit to his people and the fishermen.

Source:GNA