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Accra (Greater Accra) 9 Nov. '99
Flag waving school children with their teachers and parents cheered Queen Elizabeth, Head of the Commonwealth, during a 20-minute ride through some principal streets of Accra.
Seated in a Range Rover with President Jerry Rawlings, the visiting British monarch acknowledged the cheers of the crowd as the motorcade drove past in slow motion from Parliament House through Castle Road to the Kwame Nkrumah Circle.
The reception at the Circle was ecstatic with people rushing from their offices and wares to catch a glimpse of the Queen.
In another Range Rover behind was her husband, Prince Philip with Ghana's first lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings.
Hundreds watched the motorcade from trees and high rise buildings as she went through Kwame Nkrumah Avenue through Adjabeng to Wato Café near the General Post Office.
Led by police outriders in ceremonial uniform, the 73- year-old monarch, who is on her second visit to Ghana in 38 years, waved untiringly at the crowd.
Her husband similarly responded to the cheers of the people, including some workers who had abandoned their offices and shops to participate in the historic visit.
Offices had on their walls fresh coats of paint, flags of both countries were displayed at vantage points as well as pictures of the royal couple and President Rawlings.
Master Samuel Tekpetey, a pupil of the Liberty three Junior Secondary School, said "I am happy to see the Queen too".
Master Joseph Asante of the Ring Road East Primary School, said he did not know the name of the Queen but was at the roundabout to see her.
At the Kwame Nkrumah Avenue, pupils, students, workers and people from all walks of life, converged as early as 0930 hours to see the Queen's motorcade.
The crowd waved the Union Jack and the Ghanaian flags frantically even before her convoy appeared.
The police, who had closed the road an hour before the Queen passed, incurred the wrath of motorists even though they had announced earlier that those roads would be closed two hours before her arrival.
When the Queen drove through the Avenue, the crowd went agog with excitement, with people running after the motorcade and cyclists riding frantically after it.
School pupils shouted at the top of their voices " Welcome, Queen Elizabeth".
Some people were, however, disappointed when they realised the Queen was not in an open car for them to see her more closely.
One spectator remarked: " I would not have wasted my time standing here if I knew I would not be seeing the Queen as I did when she first came to Ghana".
Others were more accommodating, saying, "perhaps, she is too old to endure a ride through the sun".
At Okaishie, the main commercial centre of Accra, the public received the Queen with mixed reactions over the fact that she did not stand in an open vehicle.
Some complained that the motorcade travelled too fast for them to have a proper glimpse but they, waved and cheered or clapped.
Those who did not have the flags removed the ones hanging on trees and electric poles in town to wave at the Queen.
Workers at the Ministries rushed out of their offices onto the streets as soon as they heard the siren announcing the Queen's approach.
Some got to the scene late but hundreds of them managed to catch a glimpse of her riding past with the President in the specially procured range rover for the occasion.
The Queen, who was on her way to a durbar of chiefs in her honour, at the forecourt of the State House waved at the crowd with smiles that, drew cheers from the crowd.
The general comment among the crowd was "She is still beautiful".
GRi../
Durbar held for Queen
Accra (Greater Accra) 9 Nov. '99
The forecourt of Parliament House was turned into a sea of colourful swaying giant umbrellas and miniature flags as throbbing 'fontomfrom' drums welcomed the visiting British royal couple to a durbar of chiefs.
The chiefs, surrounded by a large retinue and the royal couple seated on a dais some 50 metres to their left, evoked images characteristic of the early arrival of Europeans on Ghana's shores.
The durbar in Accra, was to make it possible for the chiefs to meet the Queen who could not tour other parts of the country as she did during the 12-day tour of her first visit in November 1961. She is staying for two nights.
In line with traditional welcoming ceremonies, President Jerry Rawlings first introduced the royal couple to the chiefs who had lined-up along the red carpet.
The chiefs then took turns to welcome the royal couple seated on the dais.
The cultural atmosphere generated by the chiefs was enhanced by traditional drumming and dancing from various parts of the country, performed by cultural groups like the National Dance Company, Blema Oblahii from Accra, Aboase Dadzemba Mmenson from Cape Coast and Mayoro Wia ensemble from Navrongo.
The large crowd of diplomats, politicians, school children and members of the public present applauded and cheered.
Indifferent to proceedings on the durbar grounds, other children, most of whom, had been waiting for hours, sought refuge from the scorching sun and diplomatic goings-on by wading in the two fountains on the premises of the State House.
Drawing similarities between Ghana's chieftaincy institution and the British monarchy, Odeefuo Boa Amponsem, Chief of Denkyira and President of the National House of Chiefs said the significance of the royal visit was not lost on Ghanaian chiefs, especially as it is the second since independence.
He described it as another way of expressing the goodwill of the United Kingdom to Ghana and an enhancement of the cultural relations between the two countries.
He assured President Rawlings that chiefs in Ghana would always be mindful of their role in society and strive to maintain the peace, unity and stability needed for national development.
Speaking for the Queen, Mr Robin Cook, British Foreign Secretary, thanked the chiefs for coming from far and near to welcome the royal couple even though she could not make it to their areas and wished the interaction would strengthen the historical and cultural bonds between the two peoples.
Earlier, a large number of school children had mobbed Mr John Agyekum Kufour, NPP Presidential candidate while on his way from the chamber of Parliament to the durbar grounds, amidst shouts of "Kufour", "Kufour".
Even though he managed to smile in the midst of the "kiddie" heckles the soft-spoken flag-bearer was clearly overwhelmed by the children's spontaneous action.
GRi../