The Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has called on the Attorney-General Dr Dominic Ayine, to investigate procurement breaches and other infractions linked to a GH¢33 million special audit cited in a wider GH¢69 billion government arrears audit report.

The claim, which has been rejected by the Ministry of Finance due to a lack of supporting documentation for the transactions, was raised during proceedings of the Public Accounts Committee on Thursday, May 21.

Speaking before the committee, the Minister explained that upon assuming office, she encountered concerning reports from UNESCO regarding forts and castles, warning that the country risked being delisted from the World Heritage register.

She noted that in both 2022 and 2024, a reactive committee had raised red flags over the situation, prompting urgent intervention.

“In fact, I had to go to France, even on this matter, to go and plead on behalf of Ghana,” she said, referring to diplomatic efforts to protect the country’s heritage status.

The Minister further indicated that she attempted to engage the former Director of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board to address outstanding concerns regarding the restoration of the forts and castles. However, she said he had not responded to her attempts at engagement.

She added that the Budget Officer’s difficulty in providing clarity suggested that key decisions and disbursements were handled directly between the ministry and the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board leadership at the time.

Given what she described as a lack of transparency surrounding the use of funds, she urged the committee to recommend that the matter be referred to the Attorney-General for a full investigation.

“I want to suggest that because of the lack of transparency on how these monies were disbursed and used for the restoration of the forts and castles, that you do recommend this to the Attorney-General so that we have some closure on this matter,” she stated.

The Minister stressed that Ghana still faces the risk of being delisted from the heritage list and called for urgent steps to resolve the outstanding issues. 

"As we speak, we still stand the risk of being delisted. So I'm very passionate about it, and I would like to suggest to the committee that you ensure that you assist us to get to the bottom of this by recommending to the attorney general to take charge of it," she said.

The Minister further addressed issues surrounding the stalled Marine Drive project, outlining steps being taken to revive its implementation.

She said the government has reconstituted the board of Amdel, the special purpose vehicle established to manage the Marine Drive project, to improve coordination and delivery.

According to her, the Deputy Minister is now chairing the reconstituted committee to drive the process forward.

She added that the anchor developer and Amdel are preparing to embark on a roadshow to attract investors and secure financing for the project.

"I think we have crossed all the T's and dotted all the I's. We just need people to express interest in it and, of course, bring the financing to come and engage with the ministry so that we can take off from there, she noted. 

Madam Abla Gomashie says plans are underway to attract investors to revive the stalled Marine Drive project, with developers preparing a roadshow to promote it.

She expressed confidence that key preparatory processes had been completed and that the focus now is on attracting investment to enable the project to proceed.