Thursday, 5th June, 2025
Hon Felicia Adjei
Kintampo South
Mr Speaker, I am honoured to stand before you today, proud and humbled by the trust my constituents have placed in me for the second time, after I lost my seat in the 2020 elections. My journey to this moment has been challenging, yet transformative, preparing me to serve my constituency with vision and pride.
Mr Speaker, as a woman in leadership, I am proud to be part of a growing community of women breaking barriers and glass ceilings. I commend His Excellency, President John Dramani Mahama for empowering women in public service. The selection of Her Excellency, Prof Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, as running mate, and now, Vice President of Ghana, demonstrates the President’s commitment, and the Ghanaian people's acceptance of women in public service.
Mr Speaker, to young girls and women aspiring to leadership, I say: the sky is not the limit; it is only the beginning.
Mr Speaker, our constituency is rich in tourism potential; boasting of attractions like the Kintampo Waterfalls, Kintampo Fuller Falls, and Kintampo Village. However, poor road networks and inadequate telecommunications infrastructure hinder tourism growth.
Mr Speaker, most of our roads leading to important tourist sites are in bad shape, making it difficult for tourists to access our attractions. Critical roads, such as those connecting Jema town and Amoma town to Amoma Nkwanta through Agyina, require urgent attention. These roads are a nightmare for road users, farmers, and traders. Mr Speaker Some of the major roads in need of repair include:
1. Amoma Nkwanta through Agyina to Offuman in Techiman North Constituency.
2. Hyireso through Boadi to Nyameasem.
3. Asantekwaa to Ayorya.
4. Sabule through Mansie to Subinso in the Wenchi District.
Mr Speaker, these roads are lifelines connecting our communities, facilitating trade, and promoting economic growth. I humbly call upon the Government to put the necessary steps to fix the roads. Mr Speaker, furthermore, the lack of reliable internet services affects tourists’ communication and local businesses’ ability to market their services. I appeal to the Government to invest in our tourism sector, particularly in Kintampo South, to improve lives and promote tourism.
Mr Speaker, to boost tourism, the Government can encourage local businesses to participate in tourism efforts through initiatives like;
1. Launching training programmes for local entrepreneurs on marketing their services to tourists.
2. Creating a local tourism board to coordinate promotional efforts.
3. Offering micro-grants to small businesses to enhance tourismrelated services.
4. Developing investment plans for infrastructural development in the tourism sector.
Mr Speaker, I appeal to H.E. President John Dramani Mahama to consider the repair of our roads and development of our telecommunication infrastructure. Let us work together to put Kintampo South on the map as one of the tourist destinations.
Mr Speaker, Kintampo South is ready for the 24-Hour Economy. Kintampo is ready to receive the world. Let us fix our roads and unlock the full potential of our constituency.
Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh
Bosome Freho
Mr Speaker, I would like to commend the maker of the Statement.
This is as a result of a potential within that industry she has mentioned. She enumerated very critical and important sites and areas that are important, not just for her community, but also for the country as a whole. Because when tourists come to Ghana and visit Kintampo, they would definitely make some payments and contribute to the economy of this country. Even though she is advocating for Kintampo, it is important that we all join hands and commend her because it would have a ripple effect in Ghana.
I want to just ride on the back of her Statement to reiterate few points that were made by the Minister. The Hon Minister made some critical points at the vetting which were captured in the Report that we approved here. The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts. First was the Ministry’s preparedness to work with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to develop local tourist sites.
Mr Speaker, I think if we should pick each and every constituency and should that policy or commitment by the Minister work out, it would boost the tourism sector in this country because every constituency or district has a huge potential when it comes to tourism. And should the Minister work hand in hand with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to fix those areas, it would help us.
Mr Speaker, the second one is developing the sites or the roads that lead to those tourist sites. It is important, and the maker of the Statement said it. Not long ago, I mentioned a few waterfalls that I have in my constituency, Bosome Freho. I mentioned the Abrewa Waterfalls, Baakoteᴈ Waterfalls, Awam Waterfalls, Bobiam Waterfalls, Danne Waterfalls, Amormorse Waterfalls, Tabre Waterfalls, Tebeso Waterfalls and the Subriso Waterfalls.
Mr Speaker, when you look at the roads that lead to all these waterfalls, it is poor and bad. I go round on social media advocating that foreigners and Ghanaians visit these sites. But when they get to the district or constituency, getting to the site is even difficult.
Mr Speaker, let me even single out one; the Amormorso Waterfalls. History and studies have shown that the Amormorso Waterfalls is medicinal. When you are sick and happen to bath at the Amormorso Waterfalls, you would be healed automatically. Imagine people wanting to visit Amormorso Waterfalls but cannot go; they have to walk because the roads are not motorable. Accesing those places is difficult. I would want to commend her and plead with the Minister in charge and the Government, that roads in these areas particularly, my constituency, Bosome Freho, be looked at because we have a lot of potential when it comes to tourism, that the country and the district could benefit from.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I would want to once again commend the maker of the Statement and thank you for giving me this opportunity. I am grateful.
Hon Thomas Winsum Anabah
Garu
Mr Speaker, I thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement on the floor of the House regarding tourism and road network.
The good people of Garu would also be very happy if I bring their concerns regarding evolving tourism potential in the area, which we have. We have a vast land connecting Upper East and North East Regions. We have a very beautiful geographic landscape there called the Gambaga Scarp, which is between the two conjoining towns; the Garu district and the Bunkpurugu district, which if developed very well, with the promise made by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, to complete the Eastern Corridor, would go a long way to help in the transportation of tourists to that site.
Mr Speaker, at that very site, we have a building that was put up by our first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, to house him when he was on holidays. If we look at it very well, re-develop and invest in that area, it would attract tourists to that area and our people would have an opportune moment to invest and trade to make income, as well as provide jobs for the youth who are walking about.
Mr Speaker, besides the Scarp, we have a route there that elephants travel through. From Togo, they come to Garu, move through the Scarp through to Tilli in the Zebilla Constituency, and move up to Nangodi. If we are able to develop that place and develop the route and put a viewing side where tourists could climb up the mountain to view the elephants as they pass, this can create jobs for the youth. We also have a waterfall within the Scarp that looks very beautiful.
So, I am also trying to appeal to the Minister for Roads and Highways, and His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, to ensure that the Eastern Corridor Road is properly captured. The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts should also factor in her investments in the tourism sector, to develop the area within the Scarp where the Eastern Corridor Roads pass to make it a tourism attractive site.
This would enable us to gain some foreign income and Ghanaians could also visit the place for fun. Besides that, the place is virgin; in the sense that there are not many vehicles that pass there. The grass and air there are very fresh, and the temperature is very accommodating. So, when Members of Parliament want to have some time to relax and breathe natural oxygen, they could come to the Gambaga Scarp between Garu, Bunkpurugu, and Yunyoo. They would have some fine time there to relax.
Mr Speaker, to this end, I would like to say that the presentation was apt, and we add our voices to call for road and tourist developments in the Garu area to attract foreign income for us.
I thank you.
Hon Isaac Boamah-Nyarko
Effia
Mr Speaker, I thank you very much for the opportunity to contribute to this particular Statement made by the Hon Member of Parliament for Kintampo.
Mr Speaker, tourism is one of the most important areas that any country can develop to raise its national revenue or income. When we take Africa in context, Morocco currently serves as the biggest tourism destination in Africa, with a total of over 17 million people visiting Morocco per annum. In Ghana, we have many different tourist sites scattered across the country; yet, it is difficult to see the direction that we are going as a country in terms of developing tourism as an important area for revenue generation or employment creation in this country.
Mr Speaker, the question one may ask is, if they look at budgetary allocation to sector ministries, is that how much is given or made available to the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts for the Ministry to be able to come up with different programmes and initiatives to promote tourism?
In fact, the maker of the Statement mentioned some roads within communities where tourism could flourish and I casted my mind back to 1999-2000, the Ayorya and the Mansie areas where I had the opportunity of driving through. Almost 24 years down the line, all of these areas remain undeveloped or the roads have not been fixed, so it is a very important—
If we take the Buabeng Fiema Monkey Sanctuary, what has been done about that area when it comes to tourism?
So, I want to admonish that as a country, particularly the sector Minster for the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, we should be able to have a second look at our direction as a country in developing tourism. We cannot develop all tourist sites across the country; but at least, if we target certain areas and begin to fix our tourism eyes there, then as a country, we can progressively grow from one area to another.
Mr Speaker, let me end here by just saying that when we look at our tourist sites, we should also be interested in creating additional development poles around them. So, if one visits a waterfall, beyond the waterfall, what are the other tourism activities that are created around those areas, so that people do not just go there to visit the waterfall, but other tourist attractions, which could drive tourists to these sites?
Hon Abdul-Rashid Hassan Pelpuo
Wa Central
Mr Speaker, I just assumed you had forgotten that I was a Leader of this House, and that priority should be given me.
Mr Speaker, it is a tradition : So, for four times, I was on my feet and you often would ignore me. I hope this time round—I thank you for the opportunity.
Mr Speaker, tourism is a very important area and for every nation in this world, it is a key source of income to the people and a process by which a nation is exposed to the development of the economy and the beautification of the cities and other development areas that are shown to the people.
Mr Speaker, the maker of the Statement has been very specific in this description and I am happy that we are discussing tourism today. Ghana is a huge tourism center and yet, as other Members of Parliament have spoken, we have not explored this to the deepest, and it is killing the spirit of tourism to grow beyond where we know it. We have no good roads, and not enough infrastructure; and it is becoming a pain that all this potential of boosting the development of culture and reaping its benefits are just passing by while we cry for lack of funds.
Mr Speaker, various tourism types exist. Sometimes, people travel just because they want to see animals, others travel because they want to embark on an adventure, some travel for medical care, and other several reasons for which people travel.
Mr Speaker, we need to capture on one of this, the history of this country where we have come from. Where we have gone through pain, we have suffered in slavery, colonialism; all still have elements that we can explore to create value to our people and I would urge the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to rise to the need for expanding tourism in Ghana.
Mr Speaker, tourism is not simply the fact that you want to travel to another country. Internal tourism is as important as when you travel out of the country to see things you have not seen, to experience situations you have not experienced, to see and feel the culture, social impact and development of other nations.
So, Mr Speaker, within Ghana, we want to encourage young and elderly people to go out to other places they have never been to. Even though we live in this country, they should travel to see what they should have seen years before the travel.
I want to commend the Maker of the Statement, but to also say that the tourism perspectives that we have captured in our manifesto should be explored to the fullest, so we can effectively develop tourism, feel the joy of it, the benefits of it, and create the needed value that is in tourism. So that in the end, we are not only showing the beauty of Ghana to the world, but also, getting the benefit of it in terms of economic development.
One of the painful things that we often experience is that people come; they have heard so much about Ghana; they have heard about our independence, the struggle we went through to gain independence, and they want to come and see some semblance of it.
Mr Speaker, they come and many go back to write bad stories about Ghana. They talk about bad roads; they talk about weakness in our infrastructure, and they talk about the poor sanitary conditions. Some take pictures of them and show it to the world.
Mr Speaker, we would need to grow Ghana beyond the ordinary mention of Ghana. The fact that we grow to meet things and they are there, on and on and over and over, there is the need for us to work directly on the infrastructure of our country; the need for us to have a sensitive view about how we want the environment to look like, and this is all going to contribute to the value of tourism that we want to experience in this country.
Mr Speaker, let me thank you very much for this opportunity and thank the maker of the Statement for bringing it out. And it is important for the Minister for Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts to make a Statement here one of these days and tell us the potential of tourism and what she would do to get us to benefit out of it.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Ohene Kwame Frimpong
Asante Akim North
Thank you
very much, Mr Speaker. I want to stand
by Order 63(1) of the Standing Orders
and do my contribution in the local
language, Twi.
My Constituents
have told me severally that they want to
hear or understand most of what we
speak about in Parliament in the local
language. So if you will indulge me on
that, I would really appreciate it.
Thank you very
much, Mr Speaker.
I want to thank the
maker of this Statement, my Colleague,
Ms Felicia Adjei.
I know that she spoke
about tourism in Ghana; she made
mention about bad road networks. She
made mention of a lot of street lights
which are not in good conditions; she
made mention of problems within her
Constituency.
And I know she urged the
Government to intervene, and put things
right in her Constituency, which would
help tourism in her Constituency.
I know that most of my Colleagues
here, and Hon Members in this House
understand what I have said.
I would not
continue; I would not say much, and I
think they understand what I have
spoken about.
Thank you very much