Beyond Ohene Djan and Baba Yara, where next?

Beyond Ohene Djan and Baba Yara, where next?
November 20, 2007
By Kofi Akordor
ON Sunday, November 11, 2007, the President of the Republic, Mr John Agyekum Kufuor, inaugurated the refurbished Ohene Djan Stadium, to the joy of many Ghanaians. I was not privileged to enter the stadium, but from what I saw from outside, I want to agree with those who said the new stadium is a magnificent one. A similar description has been given to those in Kumasi, Tamale and Essipon in Sekondi.
What it means is that as far as playing fields are concerned, Ghana is ready to host the rest of Africa and, indeed, the whole world in January 2008 when Ghana 2008 opens its doors to the football fraternity. The question is: Beyond these edifices, how prepared is the country to play host to the international community in January next year?
We made a mess of ourselves during the climax of our 50th independence anniversary when visiting Heads of State had to be hurriedly pushed into houses offered to the government by a private company. Things were not better during the African Union (AU) Summit hosted by the country in July when painters and other artisans were still hard at work while our very important guests were checking into their rooms. These two events were not forced on us without our consent.
The first, which was our own Golden Jubilee celebration, was a monumental national event which should have taken painstaking preparation to ensure a perfect finish. But that was not to be, as we fumbled at every turn and ended up housing our own invited guests in private homes.
The second, which was the AU Summit, did not come to us by surprise. Indeed, we were told as part of the excuses for the failure of the 50th anniversary celebrations that the executive mansions which could not be completed for occupation by the Heads of State during the independence celebrations would be ready for the summit. That also came to pass with its hiccups.
Two great opportunities to showcase our country to the outside world and to position it as a destination point in the sub-region have been handled carelessly and numerous chances squandered, even though some people may not admit it.
Today, another opportunity looms, thanks to GHANA 2008. However, apart from the four stadia which we are excited about, other important areas are receiving little or no attention. I heard with dismay and a little bit of heavy heart a response given to a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) correspondent by a prominent Ghanaian when asked how Tamale, one of the event venues, was ready to cope with the accommodation problems of supporters of visiting teams. Typical of the men and women who are in charge of our fate, he told the BBC correspondent, to the hearing of the whole world, that football supporters, as far as his knowledge would tell him, did not bother about accommodation. According to him, the supporters only went to the stadium to cheer their teams, after which they only looked for any open space to sleep till the following day when they looked for water to wash themselves. Very simplistic, isn’t it? That was the best way Ghana, if that man’s opinion is representative of that of the organisers, is looking at the accommodation problem confronting almost all the event centres.
A friend who is arranging accommodation for supporters of the Angolan national team in the Accra/Tema metropolitan area said the supporters, in their thousands, preferred to stay in Accra to go to Tamale each match day by chartered aircraft because they were not satisfied with accommodation facilities in Tamale.
This is not an isolated issue. We have heard that Tunisia and South Africa have also complained about poor accommodation facilities in Tamale and would, therefore, prefer staying in Kumasi while honouring their matches in Tamale. So, you see, that noble man who brushed aside the accommodation problem with nonchalant ease appears not to appreciate the seriousness of the problem. Or is that playing the ostrich game? At the end of the day, the disgrace does not go to any individual; not even to the government. It goes to the country called Ghana which could not host GHANA 2008 with success.
Accra, the nation’s capital itself, does not seem to be ready for GHANA 2008. The recent rains have exposed the numerous potholes on our roads. The drains are choked and refuse is suffocating us everywhere. Accra cannot boast of the type of roads one sees in the major cities of the world and the few that we have are perpetually crammed with heavy traffic. Any attempt to manoeuvre is obstructed by street vendors who have taken their business into the middle of the roads. Our traffic lights do not work most of the time and where there should be traffic wardens, we encounter unemployed youth clad in dirty dresses or are barechested brandishing tree branches and leaves as instruments of traffic control. This is the spectacle we are going to put on exhibition for our visitors. For a country that is recognised as the first Black nation to gain political independence, for a country that is celebrating its 50th anniversary and for a country that wants to assume the role of the gateway to the West African sub-region, we have not been fair to ourselves.
One would have thought that having offered to host the continental tournament, certain crash programmes would be undertaken to give the national capital a facelift. A good transportation network would also have ensured that travelling from any part of the country to the match venues will not be bothersome. The Accra to Paga railway system which was promised the country could also not be delivered. So the north, so close, is still far away from the south.
Apart from gate proceeds, it appears the country is not positioning itself to derive any gains from the tournament. Most of our potential tourist destinations are still not accessible because of the poor road network.
Some of our guests, for instance, may want to use the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who is intricately associated with Ghana’s independence and Africa’s political emancipation. But what will they see if they manage to reach Nkroful? Nothing but neglect and decay. Where Nkrumah grew up, where he sucked his mother’s breast in his infancy should have been preserved for posterity. But we do not find any need for that. We prefer spending money on more ‘important’ things which do not bring any returns.
I was glad to read in one of the private newspapers that Mr William Ayambire, the Northern Regional Manager of the Ghana Tourist Board, was advising hoteliers, restaurant and chop bar operators to promote local dishes during the tournament. I welcome this advice because the essence of tourism is to sample what pertains elsewhere. It will not serve our national interest if visitors will be served with the same thing they are used to eating or drinking in their own countries during the tournament. The most important thing is that these must be served under very hygienic conditions.
Between now and January next year may be too short for certain things to be done. All the same, we can do something about the filth which has engulfed our capital city and other major towns. We can also do something about our traffic lights which do not function, especially at a time we claim the power crisis is over.
If at first we thought foreign teams were only coming here to play and depart at the end of each match, then we need to revise our strategies. For now, our dreams do not seem to go beyond the Ohene Djan, the Baba Yara and other stadia constructed for the tournament.