The Kwahu Traditional Council together with the Kwahu West, South, and East Municipal Assemblies have made a passionate appeal to the public, especially tourists and revelers who intend to visit Kwahu for this year’s annual Kwahu Easter and Paragliding Festival, to go for their Covid-19 vaccines before the embarking on the trip.
About three million people are expected to visit Kwahu for this year’s Easter festival, including the President of the republic, Nana Akufo-Addo.
According to the traditional council, and the local organizing committee, even though they are all happy about the return of the annual festival which was suspended for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various arrangements have been put in place to ensure that all safety protocols are adhered to before and during the event.
Addressing a gathering at the official launch of the 2022 Kwahu Easter Paragliding Festival at Kwahu Abene, Kwahu Kyedomhene Nana Ayirepe Bonsu II, Omanhene of Kwahu Pepease, who spoke on behalf of Kwahumanhene, Daasebere Akuamoah Boateng, called on security agencies to ensure an incident-free festival.
“We plead with all those who would want to visit Kwahu for the Easter festivities to go for their Covid-19 vaccines before they do so. Although I am not a medical doctor, I will advise all and sundry not to be scared of the vaccination. The total number of deaths we used to record since the pandemic came has reduced significantly because of the vaccines, so we plead with all revelers to get vaccinated first.”
“We also wish and plead with the local organizing committee to work hard and ensure a smooth celebration. Again, we will call on the security agencies to deal with all manner of people who would want to disturb the peace. I know a lot of people are excited and cannot wait for the festival because it was suspended for two years and so the thirst for that celebration has heightened, hence we know that majority of Ghanaians and foreigners will all come.”
In an interview with the media after the launch, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyemang, who revealed that the GTA and the local organizing committee have developed an event directory to guide the movement of tourists, says hot air balloon marathon and other new events have been added to the paragliding to make this year’s event unique.
“The Kwahu Easter is the biggest event on the calendar of GTA and the country as a whole because the festival rallies a lot of tourists into the country, and also it boosts local tourism as well. We have not celebrated the festival for two years now due to COVID-19, and it has really affected the local economy, so we thank God that we have minimized the spread of Covid-19 with good principles, management, and leadership by President Nana Addo.”
“This year’s event will come on as expected and a local organizing team was put in place to see to the entire organization of this year’s event. We know we don’t have enough time on our hands for this year, but we have set a standard for ourselves this year and this is how it will be done going forward. The local organizing committee which was set up will remain and help with the organization henceforth” he noted.
“We have developed an event directory to guide tourists and anyone who will visit Kwahu this Easter. We have met with all event organizers and given them event submission forms, so we know that the directory will capture all events be it a church program, concert, football, etc. all will be captured with dates and respective times. Secondly, we have added a hot air balloon to the excitement, this is similar to the paragliding, and we have some investors who are bringing it here this year, and this year the paragliding will even start days before the festivities itself.”
He also said a marathon has been added to the fun, and that a date will be communicated in the directory for that.
“A lot of fun events and musical concerts will also take place this year together with religious and cultural activities.”