Policy Think-tank, IMANI Africa has expressed disappointment in the revelation made by Tourism Minister that the government plans to build new hotels to be named “Akwaaba Hotels.”
According to IMANI, the decision would not only be wasteful but completely sidesteps the existing challenges the tourism sector faces and makes a “mockery of the much trumpeted need for a private-sector focused change management agenda for the sector.”
In an article written by Franklin Cudjoe, Founding President of IMANI Africa indicated that the NPP’s 2016 manifesto acknowledged the huge tourism potential that has been left unexplored for many years by successive governments and promised to turn things around for the better.
He stated that the NPP government also promised to aggressively develop tourist sites and bring them to world-class standards whilst making deliberate market and promote Ghana’s unique tourist sites, promote domestic tourism and generally, take tourism and the hospitality industry seriously among others.
According to him, it would be completely “NEEDLESS” for the government to spend the hefty amount of GHS 16.7m to build the so-called AKWAABA HOTELS when the amount should be used primarily to upgrade existing publicly owned tourist sites and infrastructure that will facilitate their access.
He said: “Government should then ensure proper private management that is efficient and profitable. The private sector must be left alone to decide to build new tourism facilities, including the so called AKWAABA hotels. This should not be the priority of government!” explaining that this is not the first time the tourism industry in Ghana has been promised a “make over” by a political party and that past administrations also made promises to make Ghana a preferred and competitive tourist destination and to develop new, high-value options in the leisure market.
“Nonetheless, Ghana is still not a preferred and competitive tourist destination even for the local tourist. This makes one wonder whether the rhetoric will continue, even with this new administration.”
The main performance or achievement of the tourism sector in 2016 as highlighted by the 2017 budget, Franklin Cudjoe indicated was to boost domestic tourism through the organisation of selected activities including the Chocolate Day, Hang Paragliding Festival, PANAFEST and Homofest.
“In the same budget, the 2017 outlook was to undertake investment feasibility studies to strengthen private sector participation through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs); to ensure sustainable tourism development; kick start the Marine Drive Tourism Investment Project and to develop the Efua Sutherland Park into an ultra-modern world class park through PPP arrangements. However, the 2017 performance of the sector as stated in the 2018 budget includes the organization of the Chocolate day, paragliding festival, Emancipation and PANAFEST Day.”
He mentioned that the industry is faced with some core challenges with the deplorable conditions of roads leading to the major tourist sites in Ghana, which critically affects both domestic tourism and discourages private sector involvement; non-existence of basic necessities such as proper sanitation, signage, restaurants, among others as the leading challenges that must be addressed.
He averred that while the budget has stated the need to leverage private partnerships to develop the tourism sector, specifically tourism infrastructure, the public purse will still have to make significant contributions, adding that “In the 2017 budget, allocations to capital expenditure (CAPEX) for tourism decreased significantly (74.42%) from GHS 4.3 million in 2016, to GHS 1.10 million in 2017. However, in the 2018 budget, allocation to CAPEX has increased from GHS 1.10 million in 2017 to GHS 16.7 million in 2018. This is generally a very good change, assuming that actual disbursement equals projections. It reflects the government’s realisation that increased spending in tourism has great potential to drive economic growth and create jobs.”