KB Asante: Voice From Afar column
Tourism promotion embrace locals to succeed
Many years ago, civil servants visited the office regularly when they were on leave. Being on leave was their "vacation." But they could not afford to go on vacation with the family. For one thing, the facilities were not generally available. And where available they could not afford it.
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The excuse given for visiting the office was to collect letters or personal mails. The reality, however, was that they had not much to do and, therefore, followed the normal routine of going to the office.
Other civil servants visited the law courts.
Some followed the legal procedures and submissions closely and acquired so much knowledge that they styled themselves as "pocket lawyers." They gave legal advice in the community and advised on the competence of lawyers.
Fortunately, civil servants and other employed people have enough to engage their attention now even if they cannot afford to go on vacation.
But vacation is good for those in employment.
Too many of our senior officials are stale because they do not go away once a year.
Our leaders should also take a break from work if they immerse themselves in their onerous duties. President Kwame Nkrumah followed a programme of work daily and took a complete break from labour now and again.
Many African diplomats would be shocked if some of their gossips came to light.
There were interesting accounts of ministers and heads of government and state who did not go on leave because they dared not allow those who act for them to know their dark deeds.
Commonwealth African diplomats used to joke about the visits of their superiors to London in summer, especially between July and August.
British ministers and senior officials usually go on leave during this period and are, therefore, not available for consultations or discussions.
Yet, often there are large official delegations led by presidents and their senior ministers in London at this time. My friends used to add with a chuckle, "of course, the weather is nice for a holiday and it is good to shop over here when someone pays the fare and hotel bills."
Personally, I consider it useful for our leaders to spend a week or two annually in a rural area in Ghana at public expense. During this period, he or she would hopefully come to know and understand some of the real problems confronting the country.
No special facilities should be provided and he or she should stay at the government or community "guest house."
I have been to many of these "guest houses" in the country. Some are (or were) established and managed directly or indirectly by government.
Others were established by state institutions such as the PWD to facilitate the work of itinerant officials. Some churches and public organisations also have their guest houses.
It would be good if all these accommodation facilities were adequately enhanced to cater for tourists as well as the employees or organisation members for whom they were built. The Tourist Board could be resourced to establish an organisation which will run these "hotels" to cater for tourists from abroad as well as local travellers.
Some of these guest houses are not exclusively used for the purposes for which they were established.
President Nkrumah once queried me for not consulting a particular minister as he advised before I took a particular action. I replied that the minister could not be contacted in his house or office.
A week later the president called me and said: "Asante, if you want the minister, go to the university flats near the TUC." I found that the minister had allocated one flat to himself for his "extra-curricular activities." It is time we harnessed all resources to grow the economy rapidly.
Tourism is a valuable resource.
But we are not exploiting it adequately.
Tourism should be promoted through a national plan which provides for its requirements. Roads should be built and maintained to provide access not only for food producing areas, but also to resorts.
Good communications should facilitate visits by school groups to tourist sites. Such visits promote admiration for the environment and national pride.
Tourism will not flourish if Ghanaians are ignorant of their heritage or the beauties and wonders of nature.
The industry cannot be very profitably maintained if it relies mainly on foreign seasonal tourists. Ghanaians should be enabled to use the tourist facilities off-season and throughout the year.
The holiday spirit should be promoted not only to maintain the tourist industry, but to enable Ghanaians to take time off with their families to relax and reflect in Ghana or in other parts of Africa.