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General news for Sunday March 14, 2021
Source: GNA
03/14/2021
Ghana confirmed its first cases of the virus on March 12
On Thursday March 12, 2020, the Ghana Health Service announced the confirmation of two positive cases of COVID-19 that had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) the day before.
The announcement sparked mixed feelings among Ghanaians, especially one of fear that prevails as people contemplate what the emergence of the new corona virus in Ghana has in store for them, as news of its devastating effect in Ghana has been in store for them. other countries had been in the media for a few months.
Three days after the confirmation of the two cases, on Sunday March 15, 2020 at 8:00 p.m., President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo visited the home of the Ghanaians with his first address to the nation on the measures taken by the government to control the spread. of disease.
The speech which began with “Fellow Ghanaians…” led to the closure of all schools, churches and the ban on all sporting activities and other large gatherings, including cultural activities, weddings and funerals.
COVID-19 and culture
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only hit the country’s economy, education and religious services hard, but also individuals, tourism and cultural activities, among others.
It was a solemn moment when the leaders of the Tema Traditional Council (TTC) dressed in red invited the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to the palace to announce to the public the death of the late Supreme Leader of Tema, Nii Adjei Kraku II. .
The announcement of the supreme leader’s death was not isolated, it came with the notification that the Kplejoo 2020 festival had been postponed.
Nii Armarh Somponu II, Tema Shipi, who made the announcement, said “In accordance with the solemn observation of the death of the Supreme Leader of Tema and the precautionary measures against COVID-19, the Traditional Council has suspended the Kplejoo festival of this year, which was to take place from March 27, 2020 until next year ”.
He said the elders had met with leaders of various Kple groups and heads of families to ensure strict adherence to the Council’s guidelines and those of President Akufo-Addo on public gatherings and religious activities.
The TTC therefore ordered all groups to refrain from all public activity, including the usual procession, adding that they had informed the police to arrest and treat anyone who went against the guidelines, stressing that the situation was now a national security situation. .
This is how the usual euphoria of the Kplejoo celebration died down among the residents, especially the young people who often actively participated in the festival by forming the Kple groups. Groups use the Klejoo to embark on a procession of song, dance and celebration amid the display of flags. They formulate songs to praise good leaders and criticize the bad deeds of those in authority.
The suspension also affected other segments of the cultural industries, the ban on social gatherings affected the organization of festivals, which had a ripple effect on businesses linked to these activities such as production traders of fabrics, performers, food. business, tailoring and beauty as well as wellness and film business.
Ms. Sandra Boison, head of metropolitan culture at Tema, said the photographic production business, event organizers, rental and sale of artifacts, as well as tourism, have all suffered greatly from COVID-19 due to the need to observe safety protocols, especially social distancing and prohibition. on social gatherings to curb the spread.
Topic
The name Tema is a corrupt Ga word, “Torman” meaning the city of gourds which covers the town between Nungua and Kpone along the coast of Ghana in the Greater Accra region.
Tema is known to have crossed the Greenwich Meridian in addition to being home to an important settlement including Tema Harbor and the Fishing Port, as well as a large number of industries.
The Tema natives are gas and therefore commemorate the Kplejoo and Homowo festivals every year. As cosmopolitan as the city is, it is home to other people from various cultural backgrounds from other parts of Ghana.
To promote and forge unity among the people, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) a few years ago launched the Tema Merifest Festival which provided the platform for all peoples to display their traditions through the colorful display of ethnic dances, music, dresses, food among others.
Public cultural institutions
Ms. Boison revealed that state-funded cultural institutions had also been affected by the pandemic, noting for example that last year the office of the Center for National Culture in Tema and Kpone-Katamanso had to cancel all their program described for schools.
“One example is the Creative Arts Festival on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which included theater, poetry and choreography performances aimed at educating and promoting the SDGs to students.
“In addition, some of our programs were canceled because we did not get any funding for it.”
She added that “currently, income generation has been greatly affected due to the pandemic. Therefore, the government revenue for the sector is not impressive and part of the revenue generated is used to deal with emergencies caused by the deadly virus. This affects the funding of the cultural program ”.
She said, however, that the coronavirus created the desire of many Ghanaians who stayed at home during the lockdown period and even thereafter to rely more on cultural events such as drama series, musical concerts broadcast at the television, radio and social media to eliminate boredom at home.
She said tailors and seamstresses have also ventured into the production of reusable masks.
New standard for culture
She revealed that her office has resorted to the use of virtual means to deliver online cultural activities through social media and virtual reality broadcasts in order to continue to fulfill the organizational mission, which is to promote, protect and document the culture and heritage. of Ghana through the arts.
She said: “Ahead of the 2020 general election, the Tema Metro office of the Center for National Culture joined the campaign for peace by offering poetry and plays on electoral violence and promoting it. on social networks.
By the end of November 2020, around 1,000 people had benefited from our peace message.
According to her, this year; they intend to use social media and virtual means again to organize training programs on bead making, sewing, among others for young people, adding that they will also offer short films and documentaries that would address societal issues.
This however comes with its own challenges, as she noted that “our challenge in using virtual means is that, because this is a new experience, these social media platforms that we use must be stimulated and monetized in order to make them viable and profitable. so that we can reach many people and generate income from the content we provide. But there are no funds ”.
Just like Ms. Boison, it is the wish of the inhabitants of Tema and of all Ghanaians that with respect for vaccines and protocols, the situation is normalized so that the cultural sector is reorganized because “we have missed the representations. face-to-face in theaters and event centers ”.
She called on health administrators in different districts to contact the cultural offices in their districts to help them use the arts to educate Ghanaians about the new vaccine in order to alleviate their fears of taking their beating.
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