ASSEMBLY TO DEVELOP TOURIST SITES (MIRROR, PAGE 22)

From Benjamin Xornam Glover, Paga

The Kassena-Nankana West District Assembly has initiated a programme to identify, list and document all tourist sites as part of efforts to fully exploit the tourism potentials in the district.
The District Chief Executive, Mr Thomas Addah Dalu, who said this at the second ordinary meeting of the third session of the assembly at Paga, therefore, appealed to the Assembly members to support the project for the benefit of the district.
“The protection of our existing tourism sites and those yet to be identified should be a collective responsibility of all stakeholders,” he pointed out.
Mr Dalu said already known sites, such as the crocodile ponds, the pottery and arts centre at Sirigu and the Pikoro Slave Camp would receive attention to develop the sites into standard tourist sites to attract more tourists into the district in the short-term.
The DCE said the development of the other identified sites would be done in the medium to long-term depending on the availability of funds.
Mr Dalu said as part of promoting tourism, the assembly in collaboration with relevant stakeholders would organise annual exhibitions for local artisans and craftmakers to market their products.
He said the exhibitions would necessitate the creation of exhibition centres in the district, and which would be sited in areas with comparative advantage in tourism.
The DCE said the assembly would take measures to protect all tourist sites and this include planting of avenue trees around tourist sites, fencing with barbed wires where it is necessary and instituting measures that will prevent encroachment on the lands around the immediate vicinity of the sites.