Hot!
Miss Tourism Ghana holds awards party
After a successful coronation in August, the Miss Tourism Ghana organisation held its Awards Party at the JP Air BnB at East Legon where they were camped for one month to give the contestants and winners their prizes.
Though the event was an official ceremony attended by dignitaries including Mr. Kofi Kakra Kusi of the Corporate Affairs Department at the Ghana Tourism Authority, the MP of Kpando, Hon. (Mrs.) Della Sowah, Ms. Tina Appiah of GTP, Mr. Robert Amiteye of AbibiNsroma Foundation, Mad. Grace Afrifa, a patron and Special Guest Mrs. Mavis Amoa from London, for the honourees it was more of a reunion.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director of Events and Operations at the Miss Tourism Ghana Organisation, Delphine Brew-Hammond said, “before Miss Tourism Ghana is competition, we are a family.”
According to her, she considers the ladies her children, “after 13 years of doing this, I have many children.”
The overall winners, Miss Jemima Nyamewaa Akpandja, Miss Tourism Ghana 2021, Caroline Naa Nunoo, 1st Princess and Millicent Awienda, 2nd Princess will represent Ghana at Miss Tourism World, Miss International and Miss Lumiere on the international Stage respectively.
They received additional prize package of monthly allowances of GH₵500.00, GH₵300 and GH₵200, a watch from Caveman Watches, monthly data to browse the internet, monthly hair braiding, a year supply of fabrics from GTP, Design and Sewing of fabrics, hampers from Lele, Air Circulators and other items from NASCO, hampers from Onga, Weekend stay(s) at La Villa Boutique Hotel at Osu, two nights stay for two at the Royal Senchi Hotel and Resort, Max Beauty Products, Six weeks of treatment at the Seera Beauty Clinic, Lunch or Dinner for two at La Villa Boutique Hotel among others.
Other prizes presented were, $100 cash prize sponsored by the McCabe Foundation (Daniel and Essie McCabe) of New York to Miss Personality, Jemima Nyamewaa Akpandja, a GH₵1,000 cash prize sponsored by Miss Sonia Laryea (1st Princess, Miss Tourism Ghana 2013) to Miss Eloquent, Claudia Nana Oye Debrah.
Also, Miss Culture, a prize that encompasses a weekend stay for two with full complement at the Accra City Hotel, was presented to Miss Wendy Sung-Suma, while Miss Vote, an award that comes with a weekend stay for two at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel with full complement, went to Miss Millicent Awiendi.
Whereas Miss Catwalk, a GH₵500 cash prize sponsored by Emmanuella Awedana Apuri (2nd Princess Miss Tourism Ghana 2019) went to Miss Caroline Naa Nunoo, the Miss Fashion Show was won by Miss Jemima Nyamewaa Akpandja who received two GTP Fabrics courtesy GTP, Miss Fitness, a prize that entails a documentary shoot with the official Miss Tourism Ghana Fitness Trainer Loyce Fitness, was awarded to Miss Millicent Awiendi, while Miss Clear Skin went to Miss Daniella Sekyibea Sackey who won a Cosmetic Beauty Box with Makeup.
Addtionally, Miss Wellness which comes with having lunch or dinner for two at the La Villa Boutique Hotel at Osu was awarded to Miss Raheenatu Sumaila, and Miss Swimwear was won by Miss Caroline Naa Nunoo–the prize is two nights at the Royal Senchi Hotel and Resort with full complements.
Miss Neat Hair went to Miss Anthoinette Yawa Aryee who won an electronic hair straightening brush sponsored by NASCO.
All the contestants received a bigger hamper from Lele Foods. They also got either a blender or Rice Cooker from NASCO, sundry items from Onga, and GTP Fabrics.
President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned four career diplomats as ambassador-designates to represent Ghana in four countries.
The commissioning ceremony took place on Friday, October 16, 2026.
The new envoys are Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo, Ambassador-Designate to Angola; His Excellency Louis Kwame Obeng, Ambassador-Designate to Qatar; Her Excellency Evelyn Korantemaa Ofosu-Amable, Ambassador-Designate to Israel; and His Excellency Jedidiah Reuben Adogla, Permanent Representative-Designate to Switzerland.
President Mahama charged them to advance Ghana’s national interests through strategic partnerships, economic diplomacy, investment mobilization, and expanded access to international markets.
He said Ghana’s diplomatic engagements must deliver tangible economic benefits, create jobs, and strengthen the country’s standing on the international stage.
The four envoys are career diplomats with over 27 years of experience.
On behalf of her colleagues, Her Excellency Nana Antwiwaa Dodoo thanked the President for the confidence reposed in them and pledged their commitment to emulate his leadership and deliver on the mandate given to them.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
SKIP THE QUEUE, TAP THE NEWS
You can now read the Ghanaian Times and The Spectator newspapers from the comfort of your device via TimesNewsPlus.
Join our WhatsApp Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VbBElzjInlqHhl1aTU27
