Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal
The Government of Ghana with support from the World Bank is spending GH¢350 million to modernise tourist attractions across the country, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Tourism Minister, has said.
He said the initiative was in line with government’s commitment to make the tourism sector a veritable tool for economic transformation, thereby contributing to job creation and wealth of the people.
In a press briefing at the Information Ministry, the minister said the conscious efforts made towards the various areas of the sector were to make the sector the highest contributor of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product from its current third position.
He said sites undergoing stages of development were the Pikworo Heritage and the Slave Camp, which is in Paga Nania and currently at phase one of the development; the Yaa Asantewaa Museum at Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, whose rehabilitation was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023.
Dr. Awal said the National Museum which has been rehabilitated and opened, had seen 29,363 visitors from June to October 15, as against 12,000 for the whole of 2015 before its closure.
He said the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park was also being worked on and earmarked for completion and reopening in March 2023.
The minister mentioned that the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles, Shai Hills, Mole Park and the W.E.B Du Bois Centre were yet to be rehabilitated.
According to him, Ghana’s potential and achievements in the creative industry was huge, and stated the government’s plan to construct five multipurpose domes or amphitheatres.
He said the country’s Cultural Policy and the Development of Tourism Policy were being reviewed to boost tourism and create value. “Ghana has a comparative advantage in tourism and hospitality in West Africa.
“About 65 per cent of all edifices used during the slave trade are located in Ghana, which can be used to boost heritage tourism,” he stated.
GNA