Members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism who had travelled from Accra to Nkroful, the birthplace of Ghana's first President, Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, to see at first hand the problems hindering tourism development in the area were last Saturday forced out of the place by angry youth of the town.

The driver of the bus carrying the parliamentarians, top officials of the Ghana Tourist Board (GTB), private sector players in the tourism industry and some members of the press were compelled to make a sharp detour at the outskirts of Nkroful in the Western Region when news trickled in that the youth of the town had taken to the streets to demonstrate against "unfair treatment" by Adamus Mining Company which is currently engaged in mining operations at Nkroful.

The MPs and the rest of the visiting team were compelled to take lunch on the bus, since they could not settle down at the B&Q Hotel at Nkroful to enjoy their meals.

MP for Buem and member of the committee, Mr Ford Kamel, who had trav¬elled ahead of the visiting team, had returned to meet the rest of the group at the gate of the B&Q Hotel, which is about 300 metres from the centre of Nkroful, with the news that the situation on the ground was too volatile for them to visit.

After arguing among themselves for a few minutes, the group, led by the MPs, decided to abandon the trip to Nkroful for security reasons.

Mr Kamel later told the Daily Graphic that he saw the protesting youth "screening everybody who entered the town and when they got to me they did same, after which I decided to drive out".

"I felt quite threatened and I do not think it is wise for us to go there," he lamented.

Commenting on the issue later in a telephone interview, the Western Regional Minister, Mr A.E. Amoah, expressed regret at the incident and blamed the Western Regional officials of the GTB for not seeking audience with him before embarking on the tour.



Source: Daily Graphic