Former Finance Minister Abena Osei-Asare has criticised the Mahama administration for replacing the ‘Year of Return’ initiative with the ‘Black Star Experience.’
The ‘Year of Return,’ launched in 2019 under the Akufo-Addo administration, commemorated 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in Virginia, USA, and successfully boosted tourism by inviting the African diaspora to visit Ghana.
Osei-Asare expressed her concerns during a debate on the 2025 budget on Tuesday, March 18, stating that the current government is merely rebranding existing initiatives without introducing new policies.
The ‘Black Star Experience’ is a cultural and tourism initiative introduced by the Mahama administration, aiming to position Ghana as a premier destination for African heritage and creative arts.
It seeks to build upon the success of previous initiatives like the ‘Year of Return’ and ‘Beyond the Return’ campaigns, which attracted thousands of people of African descent to Ghana
She remarked, “One thing I also find interesting is that my people on the other side [majority], they come up with fanciful names for some existing initiatives.
“Everybody knows the year of return in the diaspora, it’s a big thing. They claim they want to reset the economy, and they changed it to Black Star Experience, is interesting. ‘Year of Return’, has more meaning than just Blackstar Experience. What is the meaning of that”.
Akufo-Addo govt prioritised sloganeering over economic dev’t – Adongo
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