GTA closes unlicensed hospitality facilities
The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) in Tema has embarked on an exercise to close down unlicensed and illegal tourism and hospitality centres operating in the Greater Accra Region.
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The exercise, which started on Monday, is targeted at restaurants, car rental units, travel and tours agencies, traditional catering centres and drinking bars in Tema, Ashaiman, Kpone, Shai, Ningo-Prampram and Ada.
The GTA is empowered by Section 40 of the ACT 817 of 2011 to carry out such operations.
Mostly affected were some Chinese restaurants and hotels in Tema and some popular spots which refused to adhere to several warnings from the GTA.
They are required to pay penalties of Gh¢500 and registration fees in addition to putting in place all the needed amenities to conform to the law before being allowed to operate .
Briefing journalists on the exercise, the Tema Regional Manager of the GTA, Mrs Gifty Kwansa, said the authority had observed with concern the springing up of several new structures without any regard to safety, security and clean environment.
She said the exercise would be continued until hoteliers and other operators in the tourism sector adhered to the law.
Mrs Kwansa explained that the authority had for the last three years tried to ‘pamper’ the operators, advising defaulters to adopt the practices as expected.
She cautioned those who had turned their houses into brothels to stop before they were found out.
Mrs Kwansa said the GTA in the region, in collaboration with other stakeholders including the metropolitan assembly and the Environmental Agency (EPA), would take a decision on the structures which were springing up along the coast.
Most of those facilities, she said, were not only an eyesore, but also posed danger to patrons.
Daily Graphic/Ghana
A version of this article appears in print on November 7, 2013, on the back page of the Daily Graphic with the headline: GTA closes unlicensed hospitality facilities