GMMB Opens Training Programme For Staff
The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board (GMMB) in collaboration with Ricera e Cooperazione, an Italian Non Governmental Organisation yesterday opened a 10-day training programme for the Management staff of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board in Accra.
The workshop dubbed 'Capacity building and Activation of pilot initiatives for the valorisation of Ghana's cultural heritage' is aimed at enhancing the capacity in the protection, conservation and valorisation of castles and forts in Ghana as well as other cultural heritage.
Delivering his address, the Minister for Chieftaincy and Culture, Hon Alex Asum-Ahensah said, the objective of the training is timely because it will help train staff of GMMB. ' Your mandate is to equip, help and maintain all cultural and heritage materials and to ensure that all national monuments are adequately preserved and in good condition, establish a national register and keep inventory of all cultural and natural heritage materials,' he added.
He charged the GMMB to be quick to respond to the expectations of their clients and stakeholders within the constraints of the national budget and the training should help improve the service delivery, create a high turnover in internally generated funds and should manifest in the satisfaction of their clients who visit the various sites of the Forts and Castles.
Hon Alex Asum-Ahensah expressed his gratitude to the Italian Government on behalf of Government through Ricerca e Cooperazione for organising the training to build the capacity of the staff and to provide the needed equipment to the Museums and Monuments Board.
The Minister asserted that the board in order to realise their objectives will need funding to finance a number of programmes to help revive the forts and castles, create good storage facilities that can be used to display artifacts to attract visitors and the right caliber of staff needs to be attracted to deliver the needed services.
He noted that the support from the Italian government is a step in the right direction and is hopeful that other agencies will emulate the shining example. Hon Alex Asum-Ahensah however urged the participants to make good use of the training to enable them maximise personal and organisational benefit.
In his address, the Director for GMMB, Mr Joseph Maisie, said that the training is the second series of training programmes that Ricera e Cooporazione in collaboration with GMMB have lined up for their capacity building. 'These programmes are meant for us to examine our duties from time to time,' he added.
The Director added that the training programme is to facilitate exchange of ideas that will empower the management staff to work hard by using the added knowledge to produce the value added work.
Addressing the gathering, the Country Representative of Ricerca e Cooporazione, Dr Gianna Da Re revealed that the workshop is a three-year capacity building and institutional support project which is funded by the Italian Government and co funded by the GMMB and Ricerca e Cooporazione in collaboration with the Association Giovanni Secco Suardo and has a budget of 1,537,000 Euros.
She added that the project which are five in number and will take place between now and September 2009 aims at enhancing the capacity of the GMMB in fulfilling its objectives. The first deals with general protection, conversation and management of material and cultural heritage whiles the other will deal with diagnosis, maintenance and restoration of movable and immovable cultural heritage and sustainable tourism.
Some of the activities that have been implemented include rehabilitation and equipping of the GMMB's conservation center in Accra, Supply of equipment to the GMMB head office, Cape Coast and Princes town amongst others. Activities yet to be implemented include construction of small infrastructure for the GMMB at Princes town, tour guiding training in Cape Coast and Princes Town, skills training for unemployed youth in Princes Town amongst others.