Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia and his entourage at the Kintampo Waterfalls
Vice President Dr Mahamadu Bawumia last Saturday reopened the rehabilitated Kintampo Waterfalls that was closed down about nine months ago after 17 students from Wenchi Senior High School, who were on educational excursion, died at the tourist site.
Three students from University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR) also perished at the base of the waterfalls on March, 19 this year when they were swimming at the Kintampo Waterfalls.
The government, through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Ghana Tourism Authority and Kintampo Municipal Assembly, has rehabilitated the tourist site and put safety measures in place to prevent reoccurrence of the unfortunate incident.
Commissioning the rehabilitated tourist site, Dr Alhaji Mahamadu Bawumia, said the unfortunate incident necessitated its closure to put safety measures in place to protect lives and property.
Addressing the gathering, the vice president said tourism is very critical to the Ghanaian economy, describing the Kintampo Waterfalls as a gift of God to the people of Kintampo, Brong Ahafo Region and the country at large.
He stressed the need to take good care of the tourist site to generate the requisite revenue for development.
He said to ensure safety at the waterfalls, the Ministry of Tourism, Kintampo Municipal Assembly, chiefs and Ghana Tourism Authority would sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that would spell out the duties of each stakeholder in the management of the place.
He praised the efforts of workers, community members and security officials, who helped to rescue the injured during the incident.
The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Catherine Ablema Afeku, said the disaster and subsequent closure of the facility led to loss of revenue to the state and also diverted tourists to other places.
According to her, the facility lost about 30,000 visitors during the closure but hoped with the safety measures put in place more tourists would be attracted.
She said lifeguards, infirmary and others has been provided at the facility.
The chiefs thanked President Akufo-Addo and his vice for commiserating with the bereaved families and fulfilling all promises made to them.
The Vice President later cut the tape to reopen the refurbished Kintampo Waterfalls.
Dr Bawumia, Tourism Minister, Minister of Information, Mustatpha Abdul-Hamid, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman and the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Kwaku Asomah- Cheremeh, later toured the waterfalls and unveiled a plaque with all the names of the students that died at the place to honour their memory.
From Daniel Y Dayee, Kintampo