The
people of Nkroful, birthplace of Ghana’s independence icon, Kwame Nkrumah have
been tasked to make the necessary investments to make the area attractive to
tourists. Deputy Tourism Minister, Dzifa Ablah Gomashie, says as immediate
beneficiaries of any tourism activities in the area, the people there must take
active interest in ensuring the home in particular and the village in general
are made attractive enough for tourists. The home where Dr. Nkrumah, Ghana’s
first president, was born and raised, is in a deplorable state. Joy News’
Manasseh Azure Awuni, who visited the home, reports of a deserted house with
rusty doors and windows. The house is managed by a Senior High School graduate
who probably knows next nothing about the historical significance of the man
who lived in that house a century ago. Tourists who endured the dusty road to
the village were left disappointed and angry. Asked what is being done by
the tourism ministry to enhance the potential of Nkrumah’s home as a tourist
destination, the deputy minister said, “we encourage the district assemblies,
the municipal assemblies and the communities themselves to take interest in
what they have as a resource…[because] they are the immediate beneficiaries and
it is important that they own the facilities that they have; if you have a
resource that can bring and generate income for your community, it behoves on
you to put in as much energy as you can, to make sure you rake in the needed
resources to develop it even further.” But many metropolitan, municipal and
district assemblies are grappling with sanitation and their allocations of
common fund are in arrears. Reminded that it would amount to overburdening the
assemblies to expect them to develop tourists sites such as Nkrumah’s home, Mrs
Gomashie said, “We can’t continue saying that the state should take charge of
everything that is in this country.” “Teach me how to fish and don’t give me
fish” is a philosophy the Deputy Minister said guides the ministry’s approach
to developing tourist sites. She insisted that government has invested in the
community and that whether or not the house as it currently is befits the
status of the home where Nkrumah grew up and whether it is attractive enough
for tourists, is a matter of opinion. Mrs Gomashie said when she saw the
building last year, “it was beautiful.” Asked if the tourism ministry is
interested in lobbying the Minister of Roads to fix the dusty, pothole-filled
road to Nkroful, she replied, “advice or suggestion well taken.”
Source:
myjoyonline.com
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