Veteran highlife musician and presidential staffer for the Black Star Experience, Rex Omar, has assured Ghanaians that the current NDC government is committed to supporting and enhancing the “Beyond the Return” initiative started by the previous administration.
Speaking in an interview on Hitz FM, Rex Omar explained that the Black Star Experience is not a single day event but a broader effort to promote Ghana as a prime destination for the African diaspora.
“Black Star Experience is not an event. Year of Return was a one-off event that celebrated 400 years after the cancellation of the transatlantic slave trade. That is why after we celebrated the Year of Return, we couldn’t continue because it is a one-off celebration,” he said.
He further explained that after the success of the “Year of Return” in 2019, the previous government introduced the “Beyond the Return” initiative to sustain the momentum and continue engaging the African diaspora.
“That’s why the previous government created something that’s called Beyond the Return,” he noted.
Rex Omar emphasised that the current government has no intention of abandoning or replacing initiatives that are already serving a good purpose.
Instead, he said, the administration’s strategy is to strengthen and expand them.
“It is still an event that happens in December. So, we are going to amplify it because our catchword is amplify or create. So, the already existing projects, we want more,” he stated.
He also emphasised the importance of continuity in national development and cultural promotion.
“Why do you destroy the ones that have been created already? We have to just add up, and make it better. For example, there are a lot of private initiatives that we will have to find ways to amplify them.”
“Beyond the Return” initiative is a follow-up to the successful “Year Of Return” initiative in 2019 which commemorated the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first recorded enslaved Africans in Jamestown Virginia in 1619.
It seeks to create opportunities for people of African descent to connect with the motherland through 7 pillars.
AK/EB
