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General news for Sunday, March 14, 2021
Source: GNA
2021-03-14
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) a day earlier.
The announcement brought mixed feelings among Ghanaians, especially fear, as people imagined what the emergence of the then new corona virus would bring in Ghana, as news of its devastating effect on other countries had been in the media of communication 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 homes of Ghanaians with his first speech to the nation on the measures taken. by the government to control the spread. of the illness.
The speech that began with “Ghanaian comrades …” led to the closure of all schools, churches and a ban on all sporting activities and other large gatherings, including cultural activities, weddings and funerals.
COVID-19 and culture
The COVID-19 pandemic not only severely affected the country’s economy, education, and religious services, but also people, tourism, and cultural activities, among others.
It was a solemn moment when the heads of the Traditional Tema 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 Chief of Tema, Nii Adjei Kraku II.
The announcement of the Supreme Chief’s passing was not alone, it came along with the notification that the 2020 Kplejoo festival had been postponed.
Nii Armarh Somponu II, Tema Shipi who made the announcement said that “in line with the solemn observation of the passing of the Supreme Chief of Tema and the precautionary measures against COVID-19, the Traditional Council has suspended this year’s Kplejoo festival, which it should take place on March 27, 2020 until next year ”.
He said the elders had met with the leaders of the various Kple Groups and Heads of Families to ensure strict compliance with the directives of the Council and President Akufo-Addo on public gatherings and religious activities.
Therefore, the TTC ordered all groups to desist from participating in any public activity, including the usual procession, adding that they had informed the Police to arrest and deal with anyone who was contrary to the directives, noting that the situation now was one of national security. .
This is how the usual euphoria of the Kplejoo celebration died out among the residents, especially among the young people who often actively participated in the festival when they formed the Kple groups. Groups use the Klejoo to embark on a procession of song, dance and revelry amid the display of flags. They make songs to praise good leaders and criticize the bad actions of those in authority.
The suspension also affected other segments of the cultural industries, the ban on social gatherings affected the organization of festivals, and this had a domino effect on businesses linked to these activities such as merchants in the fabric production business, artists scenic, food. businesses, sewing and beauty, as well as wellness and cinema businesses.
Ms. Sandra Boison, Tema Metropolitan Cultural Officer, indicated that the photo production business, event organizers, artifact rental and sale, as well as tourism, suffered greatly due to COVID-19 due to the need to observe safety protocols, especially social distancing and prohibition. in social gatherings to stop the spread.
Topic
The name Tema is a corrupted Ga word, “Torman” which means the city of gourds that covers the city between Nungua and Kpone along the coast of Ghana in the Greater Accra region.
Tema is known to have the Greenwich meridian running through it, as well as being home to some important establishments, such as the port and fishing port of Tema, and a large number of industries.
Indigenous subjects are Gas and therefore commemorate the Kplejoo and Homowo festivals annually. As cosmopolitan as the city is, it is home to other people from diverse cultural backgrounds from other parts of Ghana.
To promote and forge unity among the people, the Metropolitan Theme Assembly (TMA) started the Tema Merifest Festival a few years ago which provided the platform for all people to display their traditions through a colorful display of ethnic dances, music, dresses, food among others.
Public cultural institutions
Ms Boison revealed that publicly 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 the entire program that was described for schools.
“One example is the creative arts festival on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which included theater, poetry and choreography performances that sought to educate and promote the SDGs among students.
“Also, some of our programs were canceled because we did not get funds for it.”
He added that “currently, income generation has been greatly affected by the pandemic. Therefore, the government revenue for the sector is not impressive and a portion of the revenue generated is used to address emergencies caused by the deadly virus. This is affecting the financing of the cultural program ”.
However, he said that the coronavirus created the desire of many Ghanaians who stayed at home during the lockdown period and even after relying more on cultural events such as drama series, music concerts broadcast on television, radio and social media to eliminate the boredom at home.
He said tailors and seamstresses have also ventured into the production of reusable face masks.
New normal for culture
He revealed that his office had resorted to the use of virtual media to deliver cultural activities online through social media and virtual reality programs as a way to continue fulfilling the organizational mission, which is to promote, protect, and document culture and culture. heritage. of Ghana through the arts.
He said that “before the 2020 general elections, the Metro Theme office of the National Culture Center joined the campaign for Peace with poetry and plays about electoral violence and promoted it on social media.
By the end of November 2020, some 1,000 people had benefited from our message on peace.
According to her, this year; They intend to use social media and virtual media once again to organize training programs on beading, sewing, among others for young people, adding that they will also produce short films and documentaries that address social issues.
However, that comes with its own challenges, as he noted that, “our challenge in using virtual media is that because this is a novel experience, these social media platforms that we use need to be powered and monetized to make them. viable and profitable so that we can reach many people and also generate some income from the content that we will provide. But there is no bottom ”.
Like Ms Boison, it is the wish of the residents of Tema and all Ghanaians that with the observance of vaccines and protocols, the situation will normalize so that the culture sector is renewed because “we have lost face-to-face performances in theaters and event centers ”.
He called on district health administrators to contact their district cultural offices to help them use the arts to educate Ghanaians about the new vaccine to allay their fears of receiving their injections. .
