News
Black Star Experience is not same as Year of Return
Ghana’s tourism and creative economy continue to experience renewed growth as government strengthens efforts to position the country as Africa’s leading cultural and heritage destination.
While many still associate Ghana’s global tourism success
with the landmark Year of Return campaign of 2019, it is important to understand that the country has since moved into a new phase of sector growth under the Black Star Experience, a broader and forward-looking national programme being
advanced under the leadership of President John Dramani Mahama.
Over the past year, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts and its agencies have intensified efforts to grow the sector positively, creating renewed momentum across tourism, arts, and the creative industries.
These efforts form part of the Mahama administration’s wider commitment to reposition tourism and
culture as key drivers of economic growth, job creation, and global engagement.
Under President Mahama’s leadership, tourism and the creative arts have regained prominence as strategic pillars for national development.
Government’s renewed focus has provided stronger coordination across agencies, boosted stakeholder
confidence, and created fresh opportunities for creatives, event promoters, tourism operators, and investors within the sector.
At the ministerial level, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, has been working to strengthen Ghana’s cultural ecosystem and tourism value chain through the various agencies under the ministry.
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ghana’s primary tourism marketing agency, has also continued to record notable progress in destination promotion and stakeholder
engagement.
Under the leadership of Mrs. Maame Efua Sekyi-Aidoo Houadjeto, the
Authority has sustained campaigns and partnerships that keep Ghana visible in competitive tourism markets while supporting industry players to raise service and product standards.
Understanding the difference between Ghana’s flagship tourism initiatives is
therefore important. The Year of Return was a commemorative campaign marking 400 years since the first enslaved Africans were taken to the Americas.
It invited the African diaspora, particularly African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans, to reconnect with their ancestral homeland.
The initiative resonated globally, drawing record visitor arrivals and creating powerful emotional and economic connections.
The Black Star Experience, however, represents a more expansive and sustainable national agenda. Rather than being tied to a single commemorative year, it is
structured as a long-term programme designed to position Ghana as the Cultural Capital of Africa, offering year-round cultural, entertainment, heritage, and creative experiences.
While the Year of Return focused on historical reconnection, the Black Star
Experience looks ahead, promoting Ghana’s living culture, contemporary creative industries, festivals, music, film, cuisine, fashion, and lifestyle experiences to both global and continental audiences.
A key strength of the current approach under the Mahama administration is the emphasis on sustainability and inclusiveness.
The Black Star Experience aims to
ensure that tourism benefits extend beyond Accra to communities and heritage destinations nationwide, creating jobs and economic opportunities across regions.
In essence, the Year of Return reopened the door between Ghana and the global African diaspora.
The Black Star Experience now expands that journey, inviting the
world not only to return, but to continually experience Ghana’s culture, creativity, and hospitality.
As Ghana builds on the progress made over recent years, the renewed energy and direction under President John Dramani Mahama signal a promising chapter for tourism and the creative economy, one that seeks to transform Ghana from a moment of global attention into a permanent destination of cultural excellence, investment opportunity, and shared prosperity.
Edward Boafo Owusu
Programs Lead,
Black Star Experience Secretariat
Minister for Government Communications, Felix Ofosu Kwakye, has dismissed claims that staff salaries at the Presidency have increased under the current administration, describing the allegation as a “flat lie”.
In a response to a post on Facebook, Ofosu Kwakye said the current staff at the Presidency inherited the same salaries and conditions approved for their predecessors.
He argued that once arrears owed to former Article 71 office holders are paid, the total wage bill for the current administration will actually be lower due to a reduction in staff numbers.
“It is in fact a mathematical certainty that the total amount paid in salaries to the current staff will be smaller compared to yours once your arrears are paid because of the reduction in numbers,” he stated.
The Minister noted that delays in paying arrears to past Article 71 office holders are not new.
“Arrears owed to past Article 71 office holders is nothing new or unheard of. Many others before you have suffered same,” he said.
Ofosu Kwakye also stressed that the salaries and conditions in question were approved by Parliament on 6th January 2025, under the previous government.
He pointed out that the Constitution bars any changes to those salaries until a new committee is set up to determine emoluments for Article 71 office holders under the new administration.
“No such committee has been set up by President Mahama and no alteration has been made,” he clarified.
“So on what basis, apart from pure lies and mischief, can a claim of ballooning be made?” he concluded.
The response follows public debate over the size and cost of the presidential staff, with critics alleging a spike in the wage bill.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi and the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, has initiated plea negotiations with the Attorney General’s office in the GH₵30 million Exim Bank fraud case.
Information available to ghanaiantimes.com.gh indicates that lawyers for Bernard Antwi Boasiako aka Chairman Wontumi & 2 other accused have formally written to the Attorney General to enter into plea negotiations on the charges of defrauding by false pretenses, money laundering, and intentionally causing financial loss to a public body.
A plea bargain, under Section 162C of the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Act 1079), allows an accused person to plead guilty to lesser charges in exchange for a reduced sentence.
The agreement must be approved by the court after the Attorney General assesses factors such as the strength of evidence, recovery of state funds, and public interest.
Wontumi is facing four counts after his arrest by the Economic and Organised Crime Office in May 2025.
Prosecutors allege he used forged documents to secure a GH₵30 million facility from the Ghana Export-Import Bank to finance equipment for his mining company, Akonta Mining Ltd.
The state further charges him with money laundering and causing financial loss to the state.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges and was granted GH₵50 million bail with two sureties. The case is currently before the Accra High Court.
The Attorney General’s office is yet to confirm whether negotiations will proceed.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
