Nkrumah's Statue Should Be Reconstructed--Kulungungu Residents

Residents of Kulungungu in the Pusiga district have appealed to the government to reconstruct the statue of the country's first president, Dr Kwame Nkrumah to attract tourists.

Kulungungu is in the Upper East Region and located within the borders between Burkina Faso and Ghana. It is the town where Ghana's first president, Osaagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah escaped a bomb assassination attack in 1962.

The statue was then constructed in his honour and served as tourist attractions to visitors which generated income for the residents of the area.

The statue as a beautiful scenery attracted tourists including students and teachers who travelled from far and near to visit and see the statue and learn the history behind the bombing of the late President.

It also generated income to the country for development projects.

In spite of the historical benefits of the statue to the nation, no maintenance work has been done on it, living it in a deplorable state and making it unattractive to tourists.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) some of the residents expressed worry that governments and the Ministry of Tourism had neglected such memorable historical attraction.

Mr Mohammed Issah, a resident at Kukungugu, told the GNA that the reconstruction of the statue would ensure that the community got revenue to fund development projects.

'From 2010 to 2018 the statue was destroyed by thunder which no one is paying attention to, which is bad for Ghana''. He added.

He said several media houses have reported the deplorable nature of the statue to draw attention of the institutions that matter with regards to the management and rehabilitation of the statue, but nothing has come out of the numerous reportage.

'The reconstruction of the statue would revamp the tourism industry in the area and give the people incomes' Mr Issah stated.