General News of Monday, 5 February 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-02-05
Mr. Antwi said most tourist sites are managed by private individuals and traditional authorities
Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Tourist Development Company Limited (GTDCL), Kwadwo Antwi has pointed out that virtually all tourism destinations in Ghana are not managed by the state.
This revelation follows continuous calls from stakeholders within the Tourism sector for a significant transformation of tourist sites by the government to attract more patrons.
These calls are being made in respect of the conspicuously ‘unattractive’ tourism sites in Ghana.
Many have blamed this shortcoming on government’s poor management and lack of technical know-how to upgrade these sites to meet modern standards.
However, C.E.O of GTDCL told Naa Ashorkor on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z that most of the tourist destinations are not controlled by the government.
“…today, 90% to 99% of all the tourist sites we have in the country are not in the hands of the government,” he said.
He said the management of tourist sites in Ghana is under the care or control of private entities as well as traditional authorities.
Kwadwo Antwi added that the current situation explains why the government is exonerated from blame in unforeseen events such as the Kintampo Disaster in 2017.
“When there is any problem, for instance, Kintampo happened and the blame was put squarely on the doorstep of government. But it wasn’t run by the government or the central government or let me say the Ministry of Tourism…,” Kwadwo Antwi asserted.
He reveals that a Legislative Instrument (L.I) to ensure that government gets a stake in the management of tourists sites has been submitted and approved by Cabinet.
According to him, the L.I will soon be submitted to Parliament for approval and from there, the government will be legally mandated to partake in the management of tourism destinations in Ghana.
C.E.O of the Ghana Tourist Development Company Limited states that after the approval is given by the Legislative Body, the state can then invest money geared towards the development of the sites.
In the meantime, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is in negotiations with traditional authorities and individuals who control the sites to enable the government to have a say in their management.