Ghana To Establish Two Tourism Schools With World Bank Loan

The Minister for Tourism and Creative Arts, Catherine Afeku, has revealed that Ghana is on course to establish two training institutions in the Eastern and Western Regions which will be dedicated to training personnel for the tourism industry.

She has indicated that the level of education expertise and experience of practitioners in the Tourism Industry in Ghana is low as compared to what pertains in other African countries that compete with Ghana.

According to the Ministry, the lack of training of personnel in the hospitality industry has resulted in the delivery of poor services to guests and has negatively affected the country’s image as a preferred tourism destination.

This came to light after the motion was brought before Parliament for approval of the allocation by the Tourism Ministry which amounted to $40 million facility received from the World Bank.

The government intends to spend $10 million of a $40 million facility it received from the World Bank for capacity building, while spending another $4 million of the fund for branding.

As part of activities to make the Institute vibrant, MoTAC will provide policy direction, the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), will provide the marketing and promotion strategies and a private partner, Zaddington will provide the school with curricula, tutors, hotel management and experts while the Educational Ministry is expected to provide certification to trainees.

The Minority in Parliament, is however, questioning the allocation by the government of Ghana and the Ministry of Tourism.

It insists that the $10 million and $4 million allocation for capacity building and branding respectively is not justifiable.

The Minority leader, Haruna Idrissu, who raised the concerns on the floor of Parliament when the matter came before the plenary believes that the government must explain the allocation further.