A couple of weeks ago, the Ghanaian public woke up to the surprise replacement of Catherine Abelema Afeku as Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture. Since the President of the republic has the prerogative to hire and fire, there was no need for any segment of tourism industry players to cry over spilt milk but rather to look forward to her replacement. It is in that vein that I welcome the Huni Valley MP, Lawyer Barbara Oteng Gyasi as the substantive minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture. Whilst welcoming the honourable minister into office, and being a major stakeholder in the tourism sector of her ministry, I have outlined seven things that I expect her to do in her first one hundred days in charge of the ministry. In no particular order of priority, I want the new minister to:
1. Review a very recent document produced by the joint GTA/GHATOF Committee on the synchronization of functions of regulatory bodies in the Tourism sector.
2. Meet the President and members of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF) Council to discuss and appreciate the challenges facing the tourism industry first hand.
3. Review the functions and performance of the Board of Ghana Tourism Authority in relation to the disbursement of the Tourism Development Fund. It is the view of some industry players that the placement of the Fund in GTA is problematic. Investigate the possibility of creating a revolving fund to help Tourism Industry players
4. Investigate and restore the work of a Multi-sectoral Stakeholder Committee that was set up to oversee the development of theTourism Satellite Account (TSA). The TSA was to assist national efforts to measure impact of the tourism industry on the national economy and help in evidence-based decision making.
5. Review plans to set up new hotel training schools, taking into consideration the possibility of working with existing private hotel training schools and revamping HOTCATT.
6. Follow up and possibly help to resolve the impass between hoteliers and Ghana Music Rights Organisation on payment of appropriate copyright royalties. Furthermore, take a deeper look at the Copyright Act and its implementation.
7. Review the status of Ghana as a destination for meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) and produce a blue print on how to make Ghana a preferred destination for MICE.
Suffice to say, I wish Hon. Lawyer Barbara Oteng Gyasi the very best during her tenure as Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and to remind her that together we can make a difference.
Author: Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., President of Ghana Hotels Association.
