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From ‘face the wall’ to ‘white fufu’ …Folklore board, GTA to rebrand local dishes
A group picture of the participants
The National Folklore Board (NFB) in collaboration with the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) is set to rename some Ghanaian local foods associated with derogatory names to enhance their appeal to both foreign and local consumers.
Prof. Gabriel Eshun, Technical Advisor of the Ghana Tourism Development Project indicated that the move was a strategy to change the narrative and boost the tourism subsectors of the country.
He disclosed this to The Spectator on the sidelines of a workshop on tourism, arts and culture for selected Journalists towards the tourism promotion agenda in the country.
He said it was wrong for local healthy foods such as konkonte, a meal prepared with cassava flour to be called ‘face the wall’ or ‘Chris Brown’, and ‘Kofi broke man’ for roasted plantain among others, saying that as a nation, it was important to be innovative and creative when it came to names given to local foods.
According to him, such derogatory names connote poverty and must not be allowed to persist, explaining that, all manner of people including the rich and affluent in society enjoy eating such foods.
The board he said, would soon come up with suitable names for local dishes, disclosing for example that, konkonte could be renamed as ‘white fufu’.
The training was the second in a series by the Ministry for Tourism, Arts and Culture to build capacity and encourage the media to give much attention to the promotion of the tourism subsectors of Ghana.
The journalists were selected from Bono, Bono
East, and Ahafo regions, representing the middle zone of the country.
They updated their knowledge on issues such as who a tourist is, what goes into tourism data, revenue landscape as well as better telling the tourism story among others.
The tourism ministry is aiming to generate $6 billion from 1.2 million tourism visitors annually.
The ministry sought to create more employment, for which various innovative and creative strategies were being developed to boost the sector.
From Daniel Dzirasah, Kumasi
Ghana’s First Lady, Lordina Mahama, has made a generous donation to the country’s national female Under-17 and Under-20 teams – Black Maidens and Black Princesses- as they continue preparations for major international assignments.
The donation, made on Friday, May 22, was presented on behalf of the First Lady by the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, at the GFA Technical Centre in Prampram.
The gesture forms part of efforts to motivate and support Ghana’s young female footballers as they prepare to represent the country on the international stage.
The donation included essential food items and toiletries aimed at supporting the welfare and well-being of the players and technical teams.
The donation included cartons of Milo, T-rolls, soft drinks, toiletries, and a range of essential supplies aimed at supporting the welfare of the players, enhancing camp conditions, and easing preparations ahead of their respective assignments.
The Black Maidens are currently engaged in preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers and are set to take on Liberia women’s national under-17 football team in the second-leg encounter in Liberia this weekend.
Meanwhile, the Black Princesses have already secured qualification to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Uganda in the qualifiers, extending Ghana’s remarkable record to eight consecutive appearances at the tournament.
The donation by the First Lady was expected to boost morale within both camps while reinforcing national support for the young female footballers who continue to make the country proud.
The prosecution has officially rested its case in The Republic v Solomon Asamoah & Another, the high-profile legal battle commonly referred to as the “Sky Train” case.
The Deputy Attorney General Justice Srem Sai announced the development, praising the state’s team of hard-working prosecutors for successfully anchoring the state’s evidence before the High Court.
The criminal trial centers on the former Chief Executive Officer and the former Board Chairman of the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF).
The duo stands accused of illegally authorizing and paying out US$2 million to a foreign company without obtaining board directives or other mandatory statutory approvals.
State investigators have confirmed that the disbursed millions cannot be found.
Following the closure of the prosecution’s case, the accused persons moved the court for an opportunity to file a submission of no case.
The presiding judge granted the application, ordering the defense to submit their arguments by June 8.
The outcome of the June 8 filings will decide the fate of the trial:
With this, if the judge finds the defense’s submission convincing, the accused will be acquitted and discharged however, If the judge dismisses the submission, the court will order the accused officials to take the stand and explain why they should not face prison sentences.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
