Tourism ministry to develop historical sites in Ga Mashie

THE Ministry of Tourism has launched a project aimed at developing the Ussher Fort, the James Fort, the Brazil House and the Jacobus House, all historical monuments in Accra, into tourist attractions.
Under the project, the area where these historical monuments stand will also be given a facelift.
Additionally, the project will improve general sanitation and enhance economic activities in the Ga Mashie area.
It also seeks to rehabilitate the Ussher Fort as envisaged by the Ussher Fort Restoration Project proposal which was prepared in August 2007.
At a sensitisation seminar on improving tourism in Ga Mashie, the Minister of Tourism, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, said despite the availability of a lot of tourist facilities in the community, Ga Mashie did not seem to be on the tourism map of Ghana.
She said even though the first port of call in Ghana by foreign tourists was Accra, very few people visited the area.
She noted that a critical look at the community would reveal a rich cultural heritage manifested by its tangible structures consisting of forts, mansions, lodges, warehouses and former headquarters of prosperous European and African trading companies.
She added that religious ceremonies, festivals, traditional music and dance could also be utilised to benefit the community through tourism.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah commended UNESCO-Ghana and the European Commission for facilitating and financing the first phase of the Ussher Fort project.
She also commended the Brazilian Embassy in Ghana for funding the rehabilitation of the Brazil House into a spectacular edifice.
The Project Director of the Ga Mashie Development Agency, Mr Gabriel Nii Teiko Tagoe, said the transfer of the activities at the James Town Harbour to the Tema Harbour in 1967 caused the former to lose its economic base, without compensation or the possibility to expand geographically.
He said the basic social needs of the communities were far from being satisfactory, saying that the living conditions of most inhabitants were even worse than the poorest current rural standards.
“The small-scale economic activities which survived barely made it possible for the population to sustain itself. Water is still difficult to access, roads are in bad condition, the sewerage system is only scantily existing, drainage is largely inadequate, garbage litters the streets and the sanitary situation is deplorable. Thus, once a vibrant area, Old Accra is classified today in current planning documents as a slum,” he lamented.