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Shai Hills Resource Reserve — a destination for memorable holiday experience
The tourism industry, just like other sectors, had borne the brunt of the global pandemic with many recreational sites receiving a less significant number of visitors. However, operators are hopeful of an increased turn out this year.
The Shai Hills Resource Reserve located at Doryumu in the Shai Osudoku District in the Greater Accra Region, for instance, used to record about 27,000 to 30,000 visitors annually but that figure had reduced to 16,000 as of December last year.
Mr Prince Anane Agyei, Park Manager of the reserve, who indicated this in an interview with The Spectator, said they had started lots of publicity last year and were expecting more visitors but the lockdown and travel restrictions had affected their plans.
He said the numbers only started improving in the last quarter of 2020 and the facility as of January 2021 was making further progress.
Mr. Agyei projected more patronage by the second quarter of this year, adding that the reserve was adopting other publicity and marketing strategies to attract more local visitors.
He noted that a chunk of visitors to the site were non-Ghanaians which to some extent, accounted for the drop in their figures.
“COVID-19 has taught us that we will have to target more domestic tourism. We need to boost publicity and education on the various sites across the country to attract more people,” he said.
The park manager admitted that lots of Ghanaians did not have enough disposable income hence were reluctant in visiting tourist centres.
Nonetheless, he said, their rates remained affordable and the facility would continue to provide visitors quality and memorable experience.
“Entrance fee for adults range from at least GH25.00 and there are other attractive packages for children, and other groups of individuals,” he said
Background
The Shai Hills Resource Reserve provides an opportunity to experience Wildlife without having to move far away from the capital city, Accra.
The dry evergreen savannah forest with a size of 51km sq. allows tourists to enjoy a unique combination of wildlife, nature and an amazing landscape.
The Reserve, which is one of the 16 Protected Areas, under the Wildlife Division (WD) of the Forestry Commission (FC) is one worth seeing for its natural beauty.
It is a bird haven also with over 150-bird species. The Reserve has a rich cultural history and heritage of the people of Shai who were once occupying the place which has a museum of natural and cultural history with a wide scope of artefacts.
The park has accommodation facilities and tourists are able to explore the various hills and caves in the park by way of adventure.
By Ernest Nutsugah
The Ghana First Alliance, a movement, is today staging a protest in Accra against the renewal of the mining licence of Gold Fields, a mining company owned by a South African citizen operating in Ghana.
The demonstration, dubbed “Operation No Contract Renewal: South Africa Must Go,” is being held to demand that government does not renew the company’s licence.
The group says their protest is linked to recent xenophobic attacks in South Africa by a protest group known as “march to march.”
They claim that many Ghanaian-owned shops were looted, while others were attacked, with some cases leading to deaths.
They also say the situation forced the Ghana government to evacuate thousands of Ghanaians from South Africa back to Ghana.
Speaking to some of the protesters, they said they will move to several key locations in Accra, including the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Jubilee House, where they intend to present their petition.
The protesters are calling on government to terminate the Gold Fields contract and hand over the mining concessions to capable Ghanaians to manage.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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.
