My bags were packed, I had enlisted help from my then girlfriends mother and friend to pack her some clothes for the 4 day break I was about to surprise her with to Ghana. I was nervous, I was going to pop the big question, but still needed a plan of how to do it on Valentines night, which was the following evening.

So Danielle came back from the hair salon that I had sent her to in time for Valentines day, only to find a suitcase and her passport ready, she was confused bless her, but it was all beautifully hidden from her that the real reason we were going was so I could propose to her. She was ecstatic to find out we were going on a surprise vacation for Valentines day, despite having some brief reservations about visiting a continent she had never been to before.

We landed, had a great evening, and as she slept I went down to talk to the porter at the hotel reception, had a great conversation with him about my proposal and within 20 minutes, he had arranged the most romantic evening I have ever heard of, it sounded like the scene of a movie. Had he proposed to me, I would have married him! I tipped the guy and he said he would make the arrangements and come find me on the hotel’s beach the next day.

It was Valentines day, I waited nervously, I had no back up plan, it was going to be tonight or I was flat out refusing to do it. Then Abeek, the concierge, came and found me and gave me a very British cheeky smile, wink and a thumbs up, I excused myself from the sun lounger where I left my unsuspecting girlfriend to rendezvous with Abeek.

The man had come through! He had arranged a table to be taken out from the hotel to this small stretch of private beach just behind the main hotel beach, he had arrange a friend who wasn’t working that evening to act as our personal waiter and to bring out a three course meal from the hotel. All for a price that was more than reasonable considering how perfect the night sounded.

I went and told my lady the plans, with a small white lie that we had to walk along the beach a tiny bit to the restaurant that I booked, she was thrilled.

We started walking along the beach on the calm warm February and walked around the corner to see our personal waiter standing ready by the table with a bottle of sparkling Rosé. That was enough to bring a tear to my ladies eye and I knew that tonight was the night.

The meal was beautiful, emphasised by the stunning views, and by candlelight as the sun went down after our meal, and before the desert I popped the question, there was only going to be one outcome, she cried, we laughed, and enjoyed the desert.

We hugged our waiter ‘K’ and thanked him for making our night so special.

A year on and we’re still together, our wedding is planned for the summer, but I still find myself day dreaming back to that perfect moment on the perfect holiday with the perfect conditions for the perfect proposal.

Ghana will ALWAYS be a place special to us and we plan to go back for a week of our honeymoon.

The tourism industry has been a great catalyst for this growth in Africa, as on the coastal countries of Africa, benefit from polished beaches, warm waters and all year round sun, turning it into a fairly cost effective destination. Great food, great weather and some of the kindest people you will meet. Companies such as Wexas Travel have followed the trend by finding some of the best holidays around to Africa.

The best African beaches

The beaches in Africa are so well maintained, they look like the ones you would expect to find across the Indian Ocean or when on a fantastic beach holiday anywhere else in the world. Not in the past poverty stricken African countries, but a lot has changed for the majority of the country in recent years. Including a much more concerted effort into how they can make a sustainable living by either exporting the services they can or by taking advantage of the large amount of jet setting holiday seekers every year.

Some of the best African beaches have been picked up upon and are located in Sierra Leone (pictured) and Tanzania, idyllic stretches of pure white sand and calm, clear blue waters.

Safari tours

Before there were beach holidays in Africa, there were a lot of safari tours, as people with an interest in the nature reserves went over to the various National Parks and Wildlife Parks of Africa to get tours around the Serengeti, and see some of the “Big 5” game. One of the must universal items on peoples “bucket list”.

With this increased popularity of the tourism in the country, there has been more inward investment into developing technologies and industries a little less reliant on the global economy, whilst in fact developing the country to a point where it will be fully self supportive and be able to help the other countries within the continent.

Tourism fuelling development

Water pumping powered by solar power and many other technologies are becoming more and more popular and as African nations start to gain a better credit rating and a steady rise in the “ease of doing business” as rated by the world bank.

Many countries in Africa are becoming more popular holiday destinations and it will one day compete with the heavyweights of the holiday industry, such as the countries within the Caribbean that have built themselves around the tourism industry for many years.

Africa, has a lot of growing to do, but with leading figureheads like Richard Branson giving valued guidance, they are sure to continue to grow and improve.

It seems a cure for cancer could finally be here. Information circulating on the Internet claims that research has indicated that extracts from the miraculous Graviola tree are 10,000 times stronger than chemo.

Research shows that with extracts from this miraculous tree, it now may be possible to attack cancer safely and effectively with an all-natural therapy that does not cause extreme nausea, weight loss and hair loss, but protects the immune system and combats deadly infections.

The fruit is said to have been studied by one of America’s largest drug manufacturers, with over 20 laboratory tests conducted since the 1970s. What those tests revealed was that extract from the tree were shown to effectively target and kill mali……

Dr Nii Kwaku Sowa, DG of the SEC launches the report

By Carly Ahiable

The discovery of oil creates the fear that exports may greatly affect the diversification agenda of Ghana, Dr. Felix Asante, Senior Research Fellow and head of the economic division of the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Legon, has observed.

He was speaking at the launching of an ISSER annual publication, ‘The State of the Ghanaian Economy in 2009’, today at the Novotel Hotel in Accra.

The 218-page book sheds light on Ghana’s fiscal development, international trade and payments and the various sectors of the economy for 2009, and outlook for 2010. It also prescribes interventi……

By Sydney Casely-Hayford, sydney@bizghana.com

A year ago on 10th July 2009, I wrote an article attacking NDC public truths. NDC Big and Small Lies Will Un-Make the Party. Actually walking the soil and riding Mass Metro Transit, Tro-Tro and taxis in Ghana, trying to make sense out of the complex economic chains, is an eye opener of how the macro and micro economic environments are separate from each other. Ghana is two economies. The macro numbers, which capture the attention of academia, the donor community and the regulatory authorities and the micro economy, where 80% of Ghanaians live and struggle to make a living. In stark contrast to each other, visu……