The new LI, called the Receptive Facilities LI among other things, will ensure that revenues generated from the facilities will have part of it going to the custodial owners of the facility, the district assembly and the Ministry.

Mrs. Afeku said this when she and her deputy, Dr. Iddi Ziblim, as well as other technical members of the ministry toured some tourist sites in the Western Region on a 4-day tour.

Speaking to the chiefs and people of Nzulezo; the community on stilt in the Jomoro District, Mrs. Afeku bemoaned the poor sanitary conditions in the town.

Residents dump waste into the river on which the community is built, and there is no health post in the community.

She could not understand why revenues are been collected from visitors whilst sanitation issues in the community are not addressed.

“We want to introduce a receptive facilities LI. This LI will ensure that all tourist sites come under the ministry. It will require that the ministry together with Nananom, the district assembly and the youth, will sit to deliberate on how the profit which will come from the facility will be shared. The ministry will get its share, Nananom will get their share and the district assembly too will get its share to maintain the facility.

She continued that “proper waste management is absent here. It is the ministry and Step Foundation from the Japanese government that has brought a public toilet here. But where we have to dump our refuse is absent. Tourists may boycott visiting the facility because you are dumping refuse in the river”.

She said the new arrangement will ensure that some youth of Nzulezo will be employed by the assembly or waste management companies to help manage waste in the community. “That will give jobs to our youth too”. Mrs Afeku added.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mrs. Catherine paid courtesy calls on the Western Regional Minister and the Paramount Chief of the Essikadu Traditional Area, Nana Kobina Nketsia IV.

She also met with other private sector stakeholders within the tourism industry in the region.

She used the opportunity to tell them about government’s intentions of reviving the sector and to make it more attractive to Ghanaians and other tourists from around the world.

She said her Ministry has identified the poor hospitality standards in some of the facilities across the country, which will be addressed.

“The government is partnering some Swiss experts to help address the education and training deficit we see in the industry. Their modules are going to help us train our people to exhibit high customer relations among hoteliers and other related stakeholders. Our trained people will become trainers for others too.”

Some managers of traditional and modern hospitality facilities bemoaned the many taxes and other rates slapped on them in the face of utility hikes and low patronage.

“There is EPA dues, tourism levy, federation dues etc totaling some 18 individual dues.”

“The dues are too many and we wish your ministry could harmonize all of them in the face of the challenges facing the sector,” one hotelier bemoaned.

The Minister revealed plans are currently being considered to harmonize all the rates and also to seek some utility relief for the industry through an LI at the consideration stage in Parliament.

The Minister’s entourage then left for Axim in the Nzema East Municipality where she visited the traditional authority in the Lower Axim Traditional Area. They pledged their support for the Ministry’s vision to revamp some abandoned tourist sites in the Municipality.

It was then the time to visit the Bebo Ayizi Island some five minutes away from the Axim shores. She expressed her commitment to ensuring that the island is developed “to create jobs for our youth in Axim and to generate revenue for government and custodians of the island.”

Her day one visit ended after she and her entourage visited the Fort St. Antonio which has survived the test of time with its legendary artifacts since 1515.

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By: Obrempong Yaw Ampofo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Catherine Afeku visits tourist sites in Western Region appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Chief of Kyeremankoma, had alleged that tour guides at the waterfall were sacked by some supporters of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), few months after the party came into office.

[contextly_sidebar id=”5GSDCQ3Ygi9mI7YZgSn8C8khew97C4Qf”]But the Minister has stated that the Municipal Assembly was firmly in control of the facility contrary to reports that the vigilante group had taken over the site without the requisite expertise to manage the facility.

The Minister made this known in response to questions on the floor of Parliament.

“Mr. Speaker, on the sad day that the tragedy occurred as I alluded to this august house a day after my team, the Vice President of the republic of this nation and other stakeholders visited the site, we did not see any illegal occupation when we visited the site,” the Minister said.

Catherine Afeku also announced that, the Waterfalls will be re-opened to the public on September 1st, 2017.

She stated that, the safety audit of the facility was still underway.

At least 18 persons were confirmed dead after a huge tree run off the top of the Kintampo waterfall, and descended unto dozens of revelers swimming beneath the fall.

The incident was the most catastrophic domestic tourism accident in Ghana in the last few years.

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By: Marian Ansah & Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @EfeAnsah

The post Invisible Forces didn’t seize Kintampo Waterfalls – Afeku appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

She said the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government will in its first term get a division in the fast track high court to create the enforcement unit and also draft a new legislation to protect the intellectual property of persons in the creative arts industry.

Speaking before Parliament’s Appointments Committee during her vetting on Monday [February 6, 2017], she called on parliament to support the development of the legislation to ensure that the works of creative artistes are protected.

“Piracy is a real threat to the creative arts industry. The 1995 copyrights act is there; but needs to be beefed up to support the people in the creative arts industry. These are some of the well-intended thoughts and visions that we can start in our first term,” she said.

“Getting a division in the fast track court to create an enforcement unit for those who break the law by pirating the works and arts of our people are punished,” she added.

The former President of the Musicians Union of Ghana, Alhaji Sidiku Buari (MUSIGA) in an address in 2005 said the Union lost about GH¢2million the previous year through music piracy.

“If piracy is not checked, we would lose further billions of cedis to it because they do not pay taxes or royalties to the MUSIGA,” he said.

But Catherine Afeku said the ministry under her leadership will address the challenge.

She described as disappointing the phenomenon of foreigners illegally selling reproduced local programs and contents on CDs, pledging that the ministry will consider as urgent the development of the legislation for parliamentary approval to help punish the culprits.

‘We’ll create a fund for creative arts’

Catherine Afeku said she was ready to implement the NPP’s manifesto promise to create a fund to support actors in the industry to serve as a support mechanism for them.

‘Marketing Ghana’

She noted that, they will seriously consider the creation of a tourism bureau at the country’s  airport, to serve as the first port of call to foreigners visiting Ghana to get data and information about Ghana and the opportunities available in the country.

According to her, the ministry will tap into the opportunity of using Social media and foreign missions to also brand the country in a positive light.

She added that, Ghana had secured a slot with the American satellite television channel, CNN to be hosted for an interview as a way of promoting the country to gain worldwide attention.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post We’ll create enforcement unit to address piracy – Afeku appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.