Story: Nana Konadu Agyeman, Atibie
17/03/08
FEVERISH preparations are being made towards the successful organisation of the fourth Ferdinand Ayim International Hang and Paragliding Festival this Easter at Atibie in the Kwahu South District in the Eastern Region.
This thrilling sport, which will take place on top of the 250-metre high Odwoanoma Mountain, with a take-off of paragliders, will this year witness the carrying of passengers to be landed at the Nkawkaw Sports Stadium.
This would be after they had been flown several minutes in the sky over the Nkawkaw township and the Kwahu Ridge.
The festival, which kicks off from March 20 and ends on March 25, is expected to attract about 25 international pilots from South Africa, United States of America, Germany, France and England.
They would be led by Mr Walter Nesser, a veteran paraglider believed to have discovered the paragliding site on top of the Odwoanoma Mountain and had since 2005 been taking part in the event.
Last Easter, 24 experienced international pilots from the same countries took part in the thrilling sport.
The festival has now become the leading tourist attraction in the Kwahu area and the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations has been assisting in organising it as part of efforts to develop the tourism potential of the country.
It is expected to be witnessed by hundreds of local and international tourists, who would also be privileged to see side attractions such as hiking to the Amena Wiafe Cave, which is about 200 metres down the mountain. It is believed that the Kwahus originally settled there before moving up the mountain to their present settlements.
A visit to the sport site, which is now known as the Jake Obetsebi Lamptey Paragliding Site, on Tuesday revealed that a spectators’ stand had been provided at either side of the launching pad.
The grassy launching pad had also been rehabilitated but the recent heavy downpour led to the development of gullies on a portion, which have been sealed.
A large portion of the access road uphill from Atibie to the festival site has developed deep potholes and gullies, making driving on it difficult.
When contacted on the bad state of the access road and the preparations so far made towards the event, the Principal Local Government Inspector of the Kwahu South District Assembly, Mr Joseph Appiah Sarpong, gave the assurance that preparations were still ongoing to improve the condition of the access road to enhance free movement of vehicles and people to and from the launching pad.
According to him, unlike the previous festivals, where there were a number of enthusiastic passengers who could not climb to the top of the mountain due to the bad nature of the access road, this time the Kwahu South and West District Assemblies, together with the Ministry of Tourism and Disaporan Relations, the Ghana Tourism Board (GTB) and the Ghana Tourism Development Company, were making every effort to ensure that the access road would be in good shape.
He also pointed out that a parking lot had been provided at the bottom of the mountain, where visitors could park their vehicles and board buses which would be made available to transport people to the summit of the mountain.
This, he said, would do away with congestion at the place.
On security, Mr Sarpong indicated that unlike the last festival during which the services of 70 security personnel were engaged, this year’s event would see the bigger number of security men and women on duty.
On the safety of the pilots and their passengers, he hinted that trees at the edge of the take-off points that posed a threat to the smooth take-off last year had been cut down.
Touching on entertainment, he indicated that apart from a musical concert which would be organised at the Nkawkaw Sport Stadium and which would be free for those who had tickets to be flown, the Adowa Dance Ensemble and the Kete Cultural Troupe would be there to showcase the country’s rich music and dance.
As part of efforts to ensure standard in the services to be provided, he said his outfit had organised a number of seminars for staff of the hospitality facilities in the area to enable them to render quality services to the people.
For his part, the Eastern Regional Director of the GTB, Mr Sampson Donkor, said a tourism receptive facility had been built by the Ministry of Tourism and Diasporan Relations close to the take-off site, to provide refreshment, relaxation, entertainment and rest room services.
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