The Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr.. Awal Mohammed has assured the people of Sekondi-Takoradi his commitment to rehabilitate the 32 year old yet to be completed Center for National Culture (CNC) at Fijai in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis (STMA) in the Western Region.
According to the Minister, the Takoradi facility was expected to be the next in line for renovation after renovation works on the Koforidua Center for National Culture were done.
Dr. Awal who made the remark at a stakeholder engagement with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) held at the Best Western Plus Atlantic Hotel in Takoradi assured the stakeholders of making sure that the facility was completed within twelve (12) months.
“I will ensure that the project is completed within a year”, he emphasized.
The Minister also added that the rehabilitation of the facility has come up in many important conversations among top officials of the Ministry and hence, cannot be overemphasized.
Answering questions on other pertinent issues affecting the tourism fraternity in the region, the Western Regional Minister Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah reiterated his commitment to renovate the Monkey Hill Forest Reserve to a top class tourist attraction site.
He however, added that all other stakeholders were currently standing by to come on board to revamp the reserve if the Ministry of Communication fully hands over the facility.
“We have difficulty with ownership, the facility is currently in the hands of the Ministry of Communication and we are hopeful to gain full custody of the reserve as soon as possible”, he stated.
The Western Regional Center for National Culture was established in 1989 to promote Culture and Creative Arts as well as provide an avenue to train the youths in numerous hand works to offer employable skills towards nation building.
The Tourism Minister and his entourage also visited other tourist sites in the region as part of his working visit to get first hand information on the state of the tourism and creative sector in the country.
Story by Kwame Offei
