Editorial
Intensify tourism promotion in the country
One area that can be promoted by the country to generate more revenue is tourism, because it has great potentials that must be exploited to the full.
When it comes to tourist sites, they exist in two main forms. These are; naturally endowed sites and man-made sites.
The naturally endowed sites include beautiful rivers, unique mountains, some monkeys and birds that are not common to find in the world. Other naturally endowed sites may also contain uniquely attractive fountains of water and many other scenes that beat the imagination of people. Such naturally endowed sites can be found in all the 16 regions of the country and this calls for a special purpose investment to preserve and upgrade them together with certain facilities like roads and accommodation as well as restaurants that will make the place attractive to everybody.
We need to develop a special project for this purpose and if it will mean going for international assistance, we will have to do it and earn more money for the country. What is the point in keeping national habitats such as special birds and animals in the country without making them known to would-be visitors whose desire would be to visit and explore such places to satisfy their curiosity, interest and welfare as a people in the country?
We need a special project to make this a reality, so we need to work towards it within specified and achievable timelines.
When we come to man-made tourist sites, we have many of them in various parts of the country, especially along the coasts of Ghana. We have heard of forts and castles built by colonial masters for their own security purposes and used such buildings to keep and transport slaves from the Gold Coast to other parts of the world.
A good example is the Fort Orange located near Sekondi in the Western Region. This fort was properly built by the colonial people who used it to trade in humans and goods.
The forts and castles will have to be utilised to generate wealth for the country, having existed for over 400 and 500 years. Examples are Elmina Castle, Cape Coast Castle and the Christianburg Castle which became known as the Osu Castle and was used as seat of government by various governments until recently.
The use of castles for tourist sites will mean developing them to attract tourists. One good thing that can come out of this is that apart from income generation, they will help in the education of people in the local level as well as foreigners who will come to visit such places. An interesting point to note about the communities in which these forts and castles are located is that most of the people do not know much about them and the purposes they were used for.
As has been pointed out already, such areas stand the chance of boosting up the local economy to promote domestic trade and business.
Thus, when it comes to man-made sites such as forts and castles or naturally endowed tourist sites such as beautiful sites, animals and birds, what we need to do is to put in as much investment as possible to be able to preserve them and make them attractive for sale to people whether Ghanaians or foreigners. This is how both domestic and international tourism can be promoted in this country.
And to be able to succeed in this dream, the investment cannot be avoided in terms of roads, bridges, healthcare, housing and flyovers where necessary. This is how Ghana can move forward in the tourism sector.
Dear Editor,
It is often said that a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. However, this saying becomes worrying when the health of citizens is threatened by the conditions under which the food they consume daily is sold.
In Ghana, the conditions under which food is sold is quite disturbing. Over the years, I have observed that the environments where food is prepared and sold are often unhygienic.
In many cases, containers holding food such as rice and waakye are left uncovered or not properly covered, exposing them to contamination.
While many Ghanaians paid little attention in the past to the conditions under which food was sold, the narrative seems to be changing in recent years.
I recall an incident during my days in Senior High School (S.H.S.) when my friends and I went out to buy food. At one location, some of us chose not to buy because we assumed the food would be expensive due to how neat the place looked.
Unfortunately, we ended up purchasing food from a different place that was somewhat unhygienic. We overlooked the poor conditions because we believed the quantity offered was better than at the cleaner location.
However, I am certain that my friends and I would not repeat such a mistake today, as we now understand the health implications of that decision.
While public education is important in addressing this issue, I believe it is time for regulatory and law enforcement agencies, such as the Food and Drug Authority (FDA), to crack the whip on food sellers and vendors who operate in unhygienic environments and conditions.
As citizens, we must also be mindful of where we buy our food to protect ourselves and our families from diseases and illnesses. We should choose ‘quality’ over ‘quantity’ and prioritize our health.
From Syram
Oyarifa
Dear Editor,
I write to express concern and call for improved security measures before and after every football match.
The recent robbery attack that led to the tragic death of a player, on their return from a Match day 29 game against Samartex, is both shocking and heartbreaking.
The incident, which reportedly occurred around 10:30 p.m., highlights the growing risks faced by players and team officials while traveling.
Football is meant to unite and entertain, not to expose lives to danger. It is therefore imperative that authorities, the Ghana Football Association, and security agencies put in place adequate protection for teams, especially during late-night travels.
I strongly urge all stakeholders to treat this matter with urgency to prevent such unfortunate incidents from recurring.
From Eugene Ampiaw
Accra
