Govt committed to marinedrive project
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, has expressed the desire of the government to initiate the Accra marine drive investment project this year.
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She explained that the government would construct about 30 hotels with the rate per night between US$120 to US$100 to help reduce the escalating hotel rate in the country.
“The escalating rate of the services of hotels in the country was simply demand and supply issue, therefore, the marine drive project would address the situation. The government would kick-start the Accra marine drive tourism investment project to cover at least 240 acres of land from the Christainborg Castel to the Art Centre,” Mrs Afeku said at the just-ended Ghana Culture Day celebration on (Tuesday March 14, 2017) in Accra.
The event which was on the ‘60th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence: Cultural Re-orientation for the birth of a new Ghanaian,’ brought together policy makers and industry players to deliberate on issues affecting in the creative art industry.
Mrs Afeku said the theme for the event was apt and asked the public to reflect on the 60-year journey of the country and re-orient their mindset to be in tune with the national development agenda.
She said the way forward to remain culturally relevant in an era of globalisation was for more priority to be placed on safeguarding the nation’s culture through conscious programmes.
“Tourism and the creative arts industry is one of the underdeveloped sectors in our country, despite the immense growth potential and opportunities for job creation. When developed, the sector can positively impact the lives of many Ghanaians, communities and small enterprises in our country, providing needed jobs for our teeming youth,” she said.
Importance of culture
The minister observed that considering the importance of culture in the social-economic development of the country, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government in 2004 approved Ghana’s Cultural Policy Document.
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“Among the cardinal objectives of this Cultural Policy is to enhance Ghanaian Cultural life and develop cultural programmes to contribute to the nation’s human and material progress through heritage preservation, conservation, promotion and the use of traditional and modern arts and craft to create wealth and alleviate poverty. It is sad to note that much was not seen of this important document when the NPP exited power in 2008,” she added.
Putting premium on art
For his part, the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Safo-Maafo said the government intends to put a premium on issues relating to culture to attract foreign investment.
“An area we have not looked at in terms of earning foreign exchange is culture and creative art, but this is an area you need not invest more but you will be able to gain more,” he said.
He expressed the resolve of the government to support the creative art industry to thrive and create more jobs for others.
“The government will allocate the needed resources and also take key policy decisions to develop the arts and creative industry to make it more viable,” he added.
According to him, the country abounded in enormous cultural potential that ought to be harnessed through deliberate investment in infrastructure to create employment opportunities and also generate the needed foreign exchange.