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,
I AM writing to draw your attention to the inadequate street lights in some parts of Wawase, a situation that continues to pose serious concerns for residents.
Street lights play a crucial role in ensuring safety and security within a community. Unfortunately, several areas in Wawase are completely without functioning street lights.
This has made movement at night very difficult and dangerous, especially for workers, students, and traders who return home late.
The lack of proper lighting has also created an enabling environment for criminal activities such as theft and harassment. Residents often live in fear, and some are forced to limit their movements after dark. Additionally, poor visibility increases the risk of road accidents, putting both pedestrians and drivers at risk.
It is concerning that despite the growing population and development in Wawase, this basic infrastructure issue remains unresolved.
I would like to appeal to the relevant authorities, including the local assembly and electricity providers, to urgently address this problem by installing new street lights and repairing faulty ones.
Ensuring adequate street lights will not only improve security but also enhance the overall quality of life for residents in the area.
Gwen Mensah, Agona Swedru
Dear Editor,
FOR some time now, I have been deeply concerned about the state of the Kaneshie footbridge, which has over the years developed cracks, exposing some rusted metal parts and raising safety concerns.
It is, therefore, welcome news for daily users of the facility like myself that a team from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), led by the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), visited the facility and announced a temporary closure to allow for maintenance work to be carried out.
While I wish to commend the Assembly for the move, I believe it has been long overdue.
I often find it difficult to understand why, as a country, we sit, wait, and watch for preventable incidents or tragedies to happen before we react. I say this because the issue of the bad state of the Kaneshie footbridge has been one that has been re-echoed by many who use it on a daily basis.
I believe that as the Assembly looks to start the maintenance works on the footbridge, it is also important for it and other Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to pay attention to other footbridges across the country that are in a similar state.
The time has come for Ghana, as a country, to be more proactive than reactive.
I will also urge the assemblies to deploy their respective teams to always check on footbridges across the country to ensure that they are in good shape to avoid any tragedy that could lead to the loss of human lives.
From Fafa, Kaneshie
