What in the World Has Ghana's ‘Year of Return' been a success?
So five years on, how is it going? We hear from Lakeshia Ford, Rowena Habadah, and Mama Kexornyi, three women who made the decision to relocate and live in Ghana. They tell us about the challenges they faced and how life in Ghana altered their perspective on life.
Plus, Kobby Mensah, chief executive of Ghana Tourism Development Company, discusses whether the Year of Return has benefited Ghana's tourism industry and led to increased investment in the country. We also question him about some of the tensions resulting from rising costs.
Instagram: @bbcwhatintheworld
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk
WhatsApp: +44 330 12 33 22 6
Presenter: Hannah Gelbart
Producers: William Lee Adams, Benita Barden, Beryl Richter
Editor: Verity Wilde
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
16 hours ago
- The Independent
Activists battle to block first-ever Ritz-Carlton safari lodge from opening
The Ritz-Carlton's first safari lodge opens on Friday in Kenya's Maasai Mara reserve, offering tented suites with private decks overlooking migrating wildebeest from $3,500 per person. However, a director of a Maasai conservation institute and researchers say the true cost of these sublime views will be far higher, risking significant damage to one of the world's most renowned ecosystems. On Tuesday, Meitamei Olol Dapash from the Institute for Maasai Education, Research and Conservation (MERC) filed a lawsuit in a Kenyan court against Ritz-Carlton, its owner Marriott, the project's local developer Lazizi Mara Limited and Kenyan authorities to try to block the scheduled opening. Dapash alleges in the lawsuit that the 20-suite camp, which boasts plunge pools and personalised butler service, obstructs a crucial migration corridor between the Maasai Mara and Tanzania 's Serengeti. Researchers say migration allows wildebeest to find food and maintain genetic diversity among herds. The lawsuit also says there is no evidence that an environmental impact assessment was conducted. Dapash's lawyers asked the Environment and Land Court in Narok to suspend the lodge's opening and hear the case on a priority basis. Marriott, which entered into a franchise agreement with Lazizi, said in a statement it was committed to respecting the environment and that Lazizi had obtained all necessary approvals. Lazizi's managing director, Shivan Patel, said Kenyan authorities conducted an environmental impact assessment, which had established that the site was not a wildlife crossing point. The Narok County government and National Environment Management Authority, which are also named as respondents in the lawsuit, did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The dispute is the latest flashpoint in East Africa 's grasslands between luxury tourism and Maasai herders who say that the sector's development is harming their habitats and ways of life. In Kenya, local communities have complained about what they say are land grabs by wealthy investors. In Tanzania, protests against the eviction of tens of thousands of Maasai to make way for hunting lodges have led to deadly clashes with police. Dapash, who founded MERC in 1997 as a grassroots network of Maasai leaders, said the Ritz-Carlton's development was the latest in a long list of lucrative tourism projects that government officials have green-lighted at the expense of local wildlife and people. "Without the county government regulating the tourist behaviours, the tourist activities, we saw the habitat, the environment degraded so badly," he told Reuters. County officials have acknowledged that over-tourism has harmed Maasai Mara's natural environment but have said that focusing on "high-value tourism" can help address this by bringing in more money at less environmental cost. Migration path Announcing the new Ritz-Carlton in February, Marriott said it would offer a "front-row seat" to the annual Great Migration of millions of wildebeest, zebras and gazelles. The lodge lies along the Sand River, an important water source for animals from elephants to birds, that snakes back and forth across the border between Kenya and Tanzania. Hotel staff declined to let Reuters reporters enter the property. Dapash, who is a PhD candidate in sustainability education at Prescott College in the United States and has run unsuccessfully for parliament several times, said the lodge sits on a wildebeest crossing point well-known to locals. Joseph Ogutu, a Kenyan researcher at the University of Hohenheim in Germany who has studied wildlife migration in Maasai Mara, said the new construction would deal a further blow to fauna in the reserve. Many species' populations in the reserve have shrunk by over 80 per cent since the 1970s, according to Kenyan government data. "It is highly ill-advised to build a lodge on one of the most critical paths of the Great Migration," he said. Grant Hopcraft, an ecologist at the University of Glasgow, said the project would "likely have large and long-term ecological implications for the migration". Neither Hopcraft nor Ogutu is a party to the lawsuit. Lazizi's Patel said it was the county government that proposed the site to him. And he questioned why Dapash had only started raising objections to the project in recent weeks. "The project has been ongoing for a year," he said. "We pushed it so hard to ... avoid any disruption, damage to the environment." Dapash said he only learned of the project in May because it is far from the main population centre. The lawsuit questions whether a required environmental impact assessment was ever conducted. Under Kenyan law, the National Environment Management Authority must publish a summary of the assessment in the official gazette, indicating where it may be inspected. Reuters could not find any such notice in the official gazette. Patel said he could not share the assessment for confidentiality reasons and referred Reuters to NEMA. NEMA did not respond to requests for comment. The lawsuit also says the project violated a management plan for Maasai Mara adopted by the Narok County government in February 2023, which calls for "no new tourism accommodation developments" before 2032. Patel disputed this, saying the project was built at an "existing" site that had already been in use for many years. He did not say how it had been used. Narok County did not respond to requests for comment. Dapash said the public needed answers.
Times
19 hours ago
- Times
Take the plunge — this luxe hotel has the largest pool in Marrakesh
By the time you've reached the top of this 570-acre estate's lush drive, you'll have forgotten the arid wilderness outside its gates. Still, it's only upon stepping through Fairmont's signature revolving doors that the sheer scale of this oasis hits you. Doused in petrol blue, the cavernous 14 metre-high lobby delivers drama, but it's the view beyond its colossal central window — fountained terraces, a lake-like pool, manicured fairways and the majestic Atlas Mountains — that really steals the show. The striking setting attracts buggy loads of golfers, but there's ample entertainment here for all ages — including a phenomenal spa, excellent kids' club and seven bars and restaurants — all overseen by a pitch-perfect team. This article contains affiliate links that will earn us revenue Score 9/10Keen to suit all budgets, the hotel has 20 rooms, 104 suites, and 10 two-bedroom pool villas. Bar the opulent villas, privately situated in individual walled gardens, and jaw-dropping Penthouse Suite, all are housed across four striking terracotta 'residences'. Regardless of category, decor is a mod-Moroccan mix of latticed moucharabieh screens, bold geometric Berber rugs, and handcrafted furniture, while sleek bathrooms glisten with tone-on-tone zellige tiling and polished tadelakt plaster. There are no duff choices. Even the smallest (at a spacious 72 sq m) Deluxe rooms have freestanding tubs, walk-in showers, storage-stacked dressing areas and lounge-worthy garden-facing terraces. Great for younger families requiring extra play space, garden-side suites and rooms (some of which interconnect) lead directly onto the estate's manicured lawns. Travelling with teens? With their tanning decks and hot tub, two-bedroom Presidential suites are ideal for mooching. But for ultimate serenity, opt for a second-floor Deluxe Atlas View suite in Residence D (the furthest from the lobby), complete with a hot-tub-size marble bath and breathtaking mountain views. Score 7/10 There are four restaurants and three bars to choose between. Come nightfall, Le Bar's sultry, jazzy vibe, flamboyant cocktails and fresh sushi lure guests like moths to a flame. Be prepared to wait, though: this was the one spot where Fairmont's unflappable team seemed understaffed. Al Ain, serving heartier Moroccan-Levantine fusion, is worth booking for the nightly live Andalusian music alone. But while mezze dishes of deliciously smoky moutabal, and chicken livers sautéed in lemon and sumac hit the mark, mains of Turkish Iskender kebab and halloumi brochettes are somewhat underwhelming. Elsewhere, you'll find Italian classics at Capricci and Mediterranean fare at L'Olivier, while the nearby Pool Bar (think burgers, bagels and Buddha bowls) is popular with families at lunch. Overlooking the greens, Le Sabra's olive-tree-shaded patio offers a calmer spot to enjoy lighter bites, play underway, and storks perching in palms. Still, breakfast is such a banquet you may not want lunch. Served at Capricci, besides the standard dishes and egg station, expect a deli's worth of savoury treats, from charcuterie to poached salmon sides, plus indecently moreish homebaked breads, pastries and cakes that wouldn't look amiss at teatime. • Best restaurants in Marrakesh• More of the best hotels in Marrakesh Score 9/10An absolute beauty, the 2,000 sq m main pool is Marrakesh's largest and, unsurprisingly, a magnet for children. (Travelling without kids? Don't panic, read on, you've options.) From pottery workshops to belly-dancing classes, there's plenty for active families including bike hire — from toddler trikes to electric, so the whole brood can get pedalling. Smelling of freshly baked cookies, the fantastical kids' club — with treehouse, pool and huggable life-size toy sheep — is free for three to 12-year-olds. Babysitting is also available. Adults are equally spoilt. With its Cabell B Robinson-designed 18-hole course, bar, restaurant and kid-free semi-Olympic pool, Royal Palm Golf & Country Club feels like a separate resort. Elsewhere, a vast fitness centre has all the usual dumbbells and whistles, plus a kinesis room, squash, padel, tennis and another adults-only outdoor pool. Wrapping riad-like around a glass-roofed, bath-warm pool, the blissful spa and its signature treatments are a must. Based on a bride-to-be's traditional purification rituals, the Hammam Dada has you steamed, basted and scrubbed from top to toe. After a beautiful, multisensory experience (the therapists even sing to you), you'll leave feeling and smelling heavenly. Score 9/10Gloriously isolated in rural Tameslouht, the hotel is eight miles from Menara airport. While there's nothing nearby, a complimentary shuttle makes the 20-minute journey into Marrakesh three times a day — but only until 8pm. Price room-only doubles from £350Restaurant mains from £18 Family-friendly YAccessible Y Abigail Flanagan was a guest of Fairmont Royal Palm Marrakech ( • Best riads in Marrakesh• Best affordable hotels in Marrakesh
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
UK cases of mosquito-borne chikungunya virus more than double
There has been a significant increase in the number of UK cases of a mosquito-borne virus that can cause sudden fever and joint pain and is normally only found in Africa and southern UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says more than 70 cases of the chikungunya virus were reported in the first six months of this year, more than double than in the same period last year – all of them linked to while rarely fatal, can leave people experiencing joint pain for UKHSA is warning travellers to take precautions against mosquito bites. In most cases, people recover fully within a couple of weeks, but for some, pain can persist for months or even years. In very rare cases it can be fatal. While the 73 infections seen in the UK in the first six months of this year is not a huge number, it is more than double the 27 cases over the same period last year. An outbreak of the virus is under way in the Indian Ocean region, and almost all of the infections were linked to travel in India, Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Chikungunya is spread by two types of mosquito, neither of which are present in the UK, so there is no risk on onward infection. But Dr Philip Veal, Consultant in Public Health at UKHSA, says it is a warning to travellers to make sure they take precautions against mosquito bites."Chikungunya can be a nasty disease and we're seeing a worrying increase in cases among travellers returning to the UK. "It is essential to take precautions against mosquito bites when travelling. "Simple steps, such as using insect repellent, covering up your skin and sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets can greatly reduce the risk. "Before you travel, check the Travel Health Pro Website for the latest advice on your destination. "A chikungunya vaccine may also be considered for those travelling to higher-risk regions." The same report also says the first ever UK cases of Oropouche virus, normally only found in Central and South America and the Caribbean, have also been detected in travellers returning from Brazil. This virus is predominantly spread by midge bites rather than mosquitos, with the main type of midge involved in transmission not found in Europe or the include high fever, chills, headache, joint pain and muscle UKHSA warns of a rise in Oropouche virus infections globally since 2024, and says pregnant travellers should take particular care following some concerns about the impact the virus can cause during pregnancy.
