Minister Of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
MINISTER OF Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, has launched the 2019 edition of the Ghana Diaspora Celebration and Homecoming Summit.
This year’s summit is scheduled to take place in July at the Accra International Conference Centre.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo and his vice Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanteng, as well as Tourism Minister, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, are expected to address diasporan Ghanaians at the Summit.
In his keynote address, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah, traced diaspora homecoming in Ghana to the days of George Grant, J.B Danquah, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah “who returned home to serve in the struggle even for independence.”
According to the Minister, the contributions of the diaspora from Ghana’s pre-independence days till now have been significant.
“The potential value of the diasporan community to the local community is immeasurable.”
He noted that the New Patriotic Party’s administration acknowledges the potential role that the diaspora community can play in stimulating economic development.
The Minister indicated that it was the first time that a diaspora bureau has been created at the presidency.
The summit, he says, aims at recognizing diaspora contributions towards nation-building.
He urged the need for the completion of the Diaspora Policy Document.
Director of the Office of Diaspora Affairs at the Office of the President, Akwasi Awua Ababio, called for the creation of a national service scheme to enable Ghanaian youths in the diaspora to serve the nation.
He noted that with President Akufo-Addo’s vision of Ghana Beyond Aid, the diaspora cannot be left out.
BY Melvin Tarlue