Ghana: President Akufo-Addo Inaugurates Refurbished National Museum

13 June 2022
GhanaToday (Accra)
By Rex Mainoo Yeboah

The government as part of its vision to create a vibrant cultural sector in Ghana has rehabilitated the National Museum to its original state.

With additional exhibits and artefacts to the old ones, the curators of the museum have also added seven used vehicles of former Presidents to enrich the experience of visitors and tourists.

Due to lack of maintenance, the National Museum, which was opened in 1957, was closed to the public in 2015.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Friday at the commissioning ceremony said the rehabilitation of the museum would enhance the country's cultural heritage and bring back the vibrancy in the sector to attract more foreign exchange.

In addition, the President said five ultra-modern amphitheatres in selected regions in the country were being built this year with another five to be constructed next year.

He said the tourism sector, the third-largest contributor to the country's Gross Domestic Product, would continue to receive the government's support.

President Akufo-Addo said the government had put in place systems to ensure that the museum runs efficiently to generate the needed revenue in the tourism, arts and culture space.

"A visit Ghana app has been developed to help tourism operators promote and market their products. There are also plans to digitalise our museums to enhance their global appeal."

Ghana, the President indicated, has 65 per cent of its edifices, including the oldest European edifice in Africa--the Elmina Castle, built in 1482, linked to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.

He directed the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and its agencies to work towards attracting two million tourists into the country by 2024 to generate about $4 million in revenue and also create 150,000 jobs.

President Akufo-Addo applauded the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Ibrahim Awal Mohammed, for overseeing the reopening of the museum, saying "he (Dr Awal) continues to vindicate my decision to appoint him as minister for the sector following his brilliant exploits as Minister of Business Development in my first term."

Dr Awal on his part assured that the Tourism Ministry had a business model to attract tourists to the museum to generate more revenue for the state.

Read the original article on GhanaToday.

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