Joint C’ttee on Geese and Asomdwee park projects inaugurated
A joint technical committee on the Geese and Asomdwee Parks project has been inaugurated to oversee the development of the parks into viable tourist sites for revenue mobilisation.
The committee, inaugurated by the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in collaboration with the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly (KoKMA), consists of technocrats from GTA and KoKMA.
The Deputy Chief Executive Officer in charge of Operations, GTA, Mr Ben Anane Nsiah, said GTA was mandated to regulate and promote tourism in the country and this required the development and management of certain tourist attractions.
He said the laws also mandate the GTA to control and manage public tourist sites, and this could be done with the involvement of the Assemblies and traditional authorities to ensure its growth with revenue sharing formula for the country.
“GTA identifies the Geese Park on the castle drive close to the Asomdwee Park as a tourist site which has been abandoned and taken over by the Geese, and going wild. We raised it up through the board and we have been given approval to partner with the Assembly to develop it into a modern tourist site,” he added.
Mr Nsiah said following the neglection of the project, it had been subjected to criticism, however, the Authority had allocated some budget and drawings have been made to transform the place into a recreational site.
“Effectively, the scheme for the Asomdwee and Geese Parks that will see the place beautifully landscaped has been approved,” he said.
The Deputy CEO assured of GTA’s readiness to partner all Assemblies willing to develop places to become beautiful tourist sites for the coming generation and a module which could be followed subsequently.
“We are happy that the Assembly is on board with us, and we are hopeful and convinced that we can work quickly to execute this and put one more tourist attraction in the city of Accra,” he added.
The Municipal Chief Executive, KoKMA, Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, expressed the Assembly’s excitement to partner the GTA to come up with a strong technical committee to manage the parks and ensure that they are kept in good shape at all times.
“The Asomdwee Park recently has become a topic for discussion since it was left unattended to for some time, but the Assembly is ever ready to hold on to this collaboration to make the best out of it,” he added.
Mr Tawiah indicated that the Assembly was committed to further deepening its collaboration with GTA as far as tourism was concerned with other projects within the Municipality.
The GTA’s obligation in this committee is to ensure that tour guides are employed and trained to assist the site manager in the day to day running of the facility, source funds and oversee the works necessary to open the facility to the general public.
It is also to present some preliminary design works for the final details of design to be agreed by parties.
The Assembly on the other hand is to coordinate health and safety of the facility through a collaborative effort with other relevant governmental agencies. Both institutions are to be represented on the Governing Council of the Facility.
BY VIVIAN ARTHUR
