Wednesday, 3rd December, 2025
Hon Abdul Aziz Fatahiya
Savelugu
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to make this brief Statement.
I rise today, not only as a Member of Parliament for Asuogyaman, but also as the voice of a district standing at the centre of Ghana's next big tourism leap.
Akosombo and Asuogyaman districts are no longer just “where the Dam is”; it is fast becoming the hub of domestic tourism, investment, culture and creative enterprise. My purpose is twofold:
i. to highlight the emergence of Akosombo and Asuogyaman as a preferred tourism and travel destination;
ii. to invite Hon Members of this House and Ghanaians on a journey to unlock this potential, starting with our “December in Akosombo” initiative.
Mr Speaker, Akosombo is where Ghana proved to the world that we could dream boldly and build even bolder. The Akosombo Dam created Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake on earth. The Dam became the backbone of Ghana's electricity generation. It powered our factories, lit our homes, strengthened regional cooperation and opened the door to new economic sectors, fisheries, logistics, water transport and now, a booming tourism economy.
Mr Speaker, with major attractions such as the Adomi Bridge, Dodi Island, the Dodi Princess Cruise and a cluster of iconic hotels, the Royal Senchi, the Peninsula Hotel, the Bridgeview, Volta Hotel among others, Akosombo continues to assert itself as a thriving travel and tourism enclave. We know that Ghana is experiencing a tourism renaissance. International arrivals have surged back past the one million mark. Domestic tourism has exploded with over a million Ghanaians travelling nationwide since 2023.
Mr Speaker, with inflation down today at 6.3 per cent, the lowest in more than a decade, with the dollar down, and with fuel prices down, we can expect a boom in domestic tourism this December and beyond. We also know that the modern traveller is changing. They want nature, serenity, open skies and restorative cultural experiences. Mr Speaker, the traveller Ghana has today is exactly the traveller Akosombo and Asuogyaman was built for. This December, we are responding with a bold, district-wide initiative: “The Asuogyaman, Tourism and Arts Festival”, to showcase culture, talent and creative experience. Launched last month at the iconic Bridgeview Hotel in Atimpoku, the festival signals a renewed partnership between the Asuogyaman District Assembly, private sector actors and local creatives to consolidate the district as a leading domestic tourism destination.
Mr Speaker, allow me to briefly outline the key activities that make up the festival calendar. As part of the ensuingactivities, the Miss Asuogyaman pageant will take place on 7th December, to promote culture, confidence and creativity among young women in the district. Our young men and indeed any daring young woman will also display their athletic prowess in the Asuogyaman Strongest Competition, a sporting event designed to encourage fitness, discipline and healthy competition. In addition, a special Railway Tour Package has been curated for tourists featuring a unique train journey from Tema Harbour Station to the Adomi Station. This package includes guided visits to the Akosombo Dam, the Akwamu Museum and the iconic Adomi Bridge from 4th to 7th December. The main festival week will feature an exciting lineup of activities, including street floats, water sports, regatta, a cultural derby, candlelight procession and fireworks display, alongside trade exhibitions, live band performances and other enticing attractions.
Mr Speaker, flowing from these activities, the flagship event for this festive season is the Akosombo Street Carnival (ASC), 2025, scheduled for 19th to 21st December. The carnival will transform Akosombo into a corridor of music, colour, culture and commerce. Live stages, cultural exhibitions, dance groups and street fashion will showcase the diversity of Ghanaian creativity, while numerous food stands will serve local and contemporary meals. Workshops, mentorship sessions, talent showcases and career guidance will connect young creatives to industry leaders, while boosting local businesses and enhancing Akosombo's profile as a cultural hotspot.
Mr Speaker, the Akosombo Street Carnival complements other December activities in the area to position Akosombo as a “Detty December by the Lake” destination. On 21st December 2025, there will be a grand Akwasidae Festival at the forecourt of the Bogyawe Palace at Akwamufie, where the Akwamuhene Odineho Kwarfo III, Nana Afrakoma II, one of the longest serving Queen Mothers, who has been on the throne for more than 50 years, will display the Akan Akwamu culture. Mr Speaker, new hotels, resorts, restaurants and event venues continue to emerge and attract corporate travels, weddings, family vacations and conferences. From multi-star rated hotels to budget-friendly guest houses, Asuogyaman offers diverse options for travellers and holidaymakers.
In conclusion, Mr Speaker, working with the regional and district security committees, we continue to prioritise the safety and security of all residents and visitors. As can be expected, they will beef up security during this festive season and enhance patrols to ensure safe driving to and within Asuogyaman. Mr Speaker, Akosombo holds a special place in Ghana’s history. It is where our ambitions for industrialisation first took visible concrete form. It is where the Volta River was tamed to power our homes and industries. Andtoday, it is where energy, tourism and culture are converging to create inclusive local economic development.
Mr Speaker, as a proud Member of Parliament for the area, I wish to extend a warm invitation to Ghanaians and our brothers and sisters in the diaspora to make Akosombo the holiday destination of choice in December and indeed, a year-round travel destination. Mr Speaker, Akosombo can and must move from being known only as where the Dam is to being recognised as a leading tourism and culture destination.
Thank you for the opportunity as we work to unlock the full economic potential of Akosombo and the Asuogyaman District. Welcome to Asuogyaman. Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh
Bosome Freho
Mr Speaker, thank you.
Let me first and foremost commend the maker of the Statement, Hon Thomas Nyarko Ampem. There is a certain nostalgic feeling in commenting on, hearing or reading this Statement. I was born, raised and schooled in Akosombo. In fact, at one point, he was my teacher. So, I want to commend him. Mr Speaker, this Statement is long overdue. This process of putting Akosombo on the map is long overdue. It is not just a destination; it is a whole Hollywood, Bollywood, whatever one can imagine and think of. We have culture, streetism and “Gen Z-ism”, everything put together in Akosombo.
Mr Speaker, along the banks, we have packages for those who are middle class, high class and the local class — the hotels he mentioned like Continental, Bridgeview, the Peninsula and the Volta Hotel. Those days, when we were young, Akosombo was one of the areas where, if one wanted to enjoy good music at the Volta Hotel, popularly known as “Happy Hour”, one would go to enjoy the Happy Hour, and after 10 o’clock, move to the Adowa Nightclub, the popular Adowa Nightclub of those days. Now it has been turned from Adowa Nightclub to the Sankofa Nightclub, and it is still popping and hitting.
Mr Speaker, from Atimpoku along the Adomi Bridge, throughout the night, it is like Oxford Street in the United Kingdom; very busy, entertaining and welcoming. So, I think that the Hon Member must and should, in all his capacity, ensure that this area, full of natural resources, culture and everything I mentioned, becomes one of the areas for entertainment and tourism that people would move to.
Mr Speaker, Akosombo is not far from Accra; it is about an hour and 30-minutes’ drive from Accra. I believe strongly that if one really wants to have fun, enjoy, be entertained and relax, it is not in Accra. One can move about one hour, 30 minutes from Accra, hit the Afienya Road and get to Akosombo. So, Mr Speaker, I commend him, and the part that I am so enthused about is the streetism and “Gen Z-ism” blend with culture. The Akosombo area is largely ruled by the Akwamus, and when one gets to Akosombo, one can see how the Member of Parliament and organisers are integrating the traditional leaders and their culture into the fun pack.
I want to commend them again and say that it is not just the continental and the hotel dishes. There is Aboolo, One Mouth Thousand, Akpᴐhe, Abobi, Tsofi and everything. There is a package for one’s pocket. Mr Speaker, I want to, with these few words, commend the maker of the Statement for bringing out this very important initiative that needs to be encouraged in the Akosombo area.
Thank you very much.
Hon Titus Kofi Beyuo
Lambussie
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity.
Let me commend the maker of the Statement. I think he has done justice to marketing his constituency, and we really welcome such initiative. I think the “Detty December” concept that he has localised to Akosombo, and for anyone who knows there, would indeed agree with him that it is one of the best tourism destinations. Its proximity to the capital city makes it even more convenient, and it is not an expensive place. There are a full range of hotel activities that one can participate in. I think one of the limitations to us visiting that place and having a very good time has been the poor road network.
I want to commend the visionary leadership of H.E John Dramani Mahama for bringing the Big Push agenda to ensure that the next time they celebrate this festival, people can quickly just drive there, have fun, and come back. One of the interesting parts of the road trip to Akosombo, and I go there quite often—We usually want to stop by and enjoy the scenery, especially when we get to where the monkeys are, and our kids are happy to see them. The monkeys ome very close and are very friendly. And when one gets to Akosombo itself, the Adomi Bridge is an iconic thing that everybody in Ghana who has not been there will want to see. I am very excited to hear about the celebration of culture. And the Queen Mother, Nana Afrakoma II, who has been on the throne for more than 50 years—I think this is worth celebrating. And I will implore the Hon Member that after this celebration, he should try and bring another Statement here for us to celebrate the good work of this Queen Mother, so that she can be an example to other women leaders and traditional leaders in this country.
In wrapping up, I want to say that December is a very busy month in the country, and the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts has been busy launching various activities to attract people from the diaspora to join us to spend time and celebrate our culture. I know various constituencies have similar programmes. I was planning to be at the Masquerade Festival in Takoradi, but now I am being tempted to see if I can visit Akosombo. I intend to celebrate the new year in my constituency, so I have the Christmas period to visit other constituencies.
During the New Year period, we have a very huge festival in the Lambussie Traditional Area called the Mifele-Gbero Festival where we celebrate our new grain with our chiefs. There is a rich display of culture. So, while I join colleagues, I would also use the opportunity to invite people to visit Lambussie. When you are at Lambussie, you are close to the boarder. You can cross over the Burkina Faso, come back and have a good time.
Thank you so much for the opportunity, and I commend the maker of the Statement.
Hon Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah
Takoradi
Speaker, I am very happy to contribute to this Statement.
In fact, I have known Mr Ampem since he was the District Chief Executive for Asuogyaman District. From then, I have recognised his effort in promoting his district. I have actually risen up to support him for one particular reason. We know that I come from Amansie. We know that when we talk about the Akwamu history, its origins started from Amansie, Asantemanso, all the way to Twifo Praso, to Asamankese to the mountains. I see it as a contribution and support for a Brother. I know that now that they are starting something new, there will be challenges. For me, the most important thing is how to sustain it going forward, when Mr Ampem is no more the Member of Parliament and no longer the Deputy Minister for Finance. I believe that this is the beginning.
In December, everybody knows that the Christmas city of Ghana is Takoradi. But for this purpose, we want to give the Hon Member an advice so that he will be able to sustain this going forward because they are closer to Accra. Even though we can use 25 minutes to get to Takoradi, he has to use an hour or an hour and thirty minutes. The key issue, I believe is that everybody knows Akosombo, and we should be able to attract especially now, visitors into Accra to not just do a lot of things in Accra but to also see Akosombo as an alternative to Accra. One of the key issues is that Akosombo, because it is farther away from Accra, will give a lot of customers and clients the peace of mind to enjoy themselves while they are at Akosombo.
Secondly, I also do believe that in getting the youth involved, we should also let them understand that we have to move from social mobilisation to economic mobilisation as part of this new programming. Sponsorship is one of the major difficulties we tend to have when we are organising a lot of these programmes. If we are able to lock in that now, we should be able to consistently deliver this programme over a long period of time.
Thirdly, I also believe that now that the chiefs have got involved, we should centre all these things around them. In fact, it will make a lot of the culture popular, and the youth will easily connect with it. Most of the time when it is pure tradition, they find it very difficult to connect. Now education is on the internet, they are thinking more about abroad, things that people do outside this country, and they sometimes think that the traditions that they participate in are “colo”. Meanwhile, they have been in existence for a very long time, and they have survived the test of time.
I believe that if we are able to revolve it around the chiefs, they will also make sure that apart from their own traditional activities that they do, they will be able to bring this on board. I remember some time ago, the Juabenhene was dancing Azonto, and it made Azonto very popular. If we are able to get our chiefs to also acquaint themselves with the new things we want to do now, a lot of the young people will feel the stamp of recognition, and they will easily connect and make sure that they are part and parcel of this programme now and going forward.
Mr Speaker, I have seen that you are holding your microphone. I would like to conclude. In conclusion, I would say that Mr Ampem has done a very good job. We need to support him to succeed, and I believe that if the programme is extended, maybe after Christmas, we can also pass through Akosombo one day before we go to the village.
Thank you very much.
Hon Frank Afriyie
Afadjato South
Mr Speaker, let me use the opportunity to also thank the maker of this very important Statement.
Without doubt, the Statement is as important as the personality. Indeed, I will add that we do not waste time in giving the Deputy Minister his bill for the free adverts he has done for his constituency in the Chamber. It is important to add my voice to the statement made, that the Asuogyaman Constituency is indeed one of the most important ones when it comes to domestic tourism, culture, and commerce. Indeed, this same constituency houses very iconic national infrastructure such as the Akosombo Dam and the Adomi Bridge for those of us who are from the Volta Region, Oti Region and part of the northern enclave.
Indeed, the day the MP and his constituents decide to block the Adomi Bridge is the last day we will be able to go to our various constituencies. Clearly, it is very important that all of us support this very Statement in making the Asuogyaman Constituency a very important one more than this. Mr Speaker, the decision to organise a cultural festival this December in order to add value to their ecotourist facilities and to enhance them, I think, is in the right direction, because it creates lots of jobs for our teeming youth and women. If you get to Atimpoku, particularly on Fridays and weekends, the number of youth and women who sell by the roadside are not only from that constituency, but most of them have even migrated from very faraway constituencies in order to make livelihoods in selling at the bridge. Indeed, a festival of this nature can only bring many customers to them. I wish to also highlight the importance of preserving nature and investing in nature.
Today, one of the most important issues of national security dimension is the alarming rates of the galamsey menace. So, when a constituency like Asuogyaman decides to invest in nature, preserve nature, preserve the serenity of nature, we can only be grateful to them and support them. Through such preservation, I believe we will be able to generate very sustainable jobs for our youth, our women, and at the same time, preserve the integrity of the ecological system. With these few words, may I also use the opportunity once again to thank the maker of the Statement.
Thank you so much.
Hon Frank Annoh-Dompreh
Nsawam/Adoagyiri
Mr Speaker, Colleagues who have spoken earlier have all commended our Friend, but we must single Mr Speaker out and commend him, because the admission of the Statement is in the bosom of the Speaker. If it had not been Mr Speaker, he would not be receiving all these commendations.
However, I must emphasise that our Colleague has set the tone for a certain renewed effort towards the promotion of tourism generally in this country, and he has also told us in plain words that as Members of Parliament, there are roles we have to play. It cannot only be at the doorstep of the mandated Ministry. We can act as the voice of various municipalities and districts in rallying around stakeholders towards the call for a change in the promotion of tourism. So, our Friend, we are grateful. It also goes beyond Akosombo; it cannot just be Akosombo.
I see the Hon Member’s Statement as nudging this House to have the necessary consciousness in terms of tourism promotion. Akosombo is just a platform that he is using. Interestingly, my children grew up at Akosombo. I used to visit Akosombo many times with the Hon Member for Bosome Freho, Hon Asafo-Adjei, so I know Akosombo quite well. My worry now is beyond the Statement —
I move with many more people, especially my friend. Many of our Colleagues do not know, but maybe I should do a full declaration. Hon Rockson and I have been friends since two decades ago, at Casely Hayford (Casford) Hall at the University of Cape Coast, when he was seeking to become the Hall President—I am a full and a proud “Casfordian”. Unfortunately, he could not win but he is the Hall President we never had; solid Rockson. My worry beyond the Statement is that we should sustain this conversation into the night, and also agree to the point that it cannot be limited to Akosombo only.
In the over 200 districts that we have in this country, every district has a certain unique nature-based artefact, and it is our responsibility as a country to project these unique artefacts; that is what we have been failing to do. Clearly, Hon Ampem is taking absolute control of Asuogyaman but now he is running faster than I can imagine. He is clearly telling his competitors to stay away. Anyway, this is just by the way. Again, it is limiting for me when he limits himself to December. It cannot just be December. I think it should just be an all-year-round advocacy. We should rally – it should not be partisan – I know he is not that type. He should get all the stakeholders like the assemblies to the drawing table.
Thankfully, his good self has been a District Chief Executive before, so he should reach out to all the people who matter. Tourism promotion should go beyond hotels and beyond brick and mortar. I am concerned that beyond the hotels, what is it that is unique about Akosombo? He knows it, and that is where the focus should be. I am only saddened that he did not talk about climate concerns, this is because we have the biggest man-made lake in his Constituency. We need to protect flora and fauna. When we stand across the Volta River, there is a huge forest. We should be thinking about how we can protect that forest, because there is an interface between the forest and the river body, that is the Volta Lake. His Statement did not touch on it. I have seen a number of programmes he has itemised. Asuogyaman’s strongest competition, the railway tour package along the Mpakadan, and the Asuogyaman Tourism and Art Festival. We should be concerned about it because all these festivals would happen on the soil; flora and fauna. How do we protect this? For me that is the crux of the matter. I want to commend him. This is also a wake-up call to all of us.
Interestingly, Nsawam is closer to Accra than Asuogyaman and he knows it. So, he has rather exposed me today, that we have been a sleeping giant. At least we have Nsawam bread, Nsawam tsofi and all that we can think about. So, I take a cue from the direction our Colleague has provided and probably we should hold our hands, and work together with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts to promote tourism and this consciousness in our various districts. Having said that, I commend him. I now understand why he called me about this Statement.
Hon Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwami Dafeamekpor
South Dayi
Mr Speaker, let me commend my Brother.
When he called me about it, I asked the Hon Ampem what Statement has he brought at this time of the year when we are considering his Instruments and Estimates. When he gave me the Statement, I saw the real importance and relevance given the times. Mr Speaker our duty as the elected representatives of the people is to occasionally advocate for the interest of the people we represent. I believe this festival is very key to the community in Asuogyaman. Asuogyaman and South Dayi are contiguous; we share the eastern and the volta boundary, not only on land but through the mighty Volta, but people do not know that.
In fact, more than half of the Dodi Island is in my constituency, so the things we share are common, including the people, families and all. Now I am particularly happy he has brought this to the Floor, because when we go to Dar es Salaam, and we want to travel to Zanzibar which is by the sea, we go by boat. They use luxury boats for the passengers. The bigger ones take one and a half hours, but what they call the water taxis take 45 minutes and we pay more.
So, in Asuogyaman at Akosombo, we have the Volta Lake Transport Company. I think we considered their Estimates yesterday. We need to look at the opportunity of this House allocating some funding for the Volta Lake Transport Company to acquire these water taxis; they are not too expensive. If we have about four or five that dock at Akosombo, we can do a lake tour all the way to Yeji and back. People can spend money and we can have transit quarters built along Dzememi, Kpando, Torkor, Agordeke and Abotoase.
Like the Hon Annoh-Dompreh said, this cannot be reserved for only December. It must be a yearlong activity that must be properly packaged. We can attract people from the sub-region. Look at the Nigerian population, they are looking for something to visit Ghana and spend. The multiplied effect of what they will come and do here will be huge. So, we want to thank him for bringing this to the attention of the House. We want to encourage Members to identify things like this in their constituencies and bring it to the Floor for our attention.
I thank you Mr Speaker.
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