I have visited many places which the official government publications list as tourist sites. A visit to those sites quite clearly point out the type of greedy and incompetent leadership we have bestowed on ourselves. The visits more often than not clearly indicate that we are not a serious nation in any endeavour we touch. The last ?tourist site? I visited about two months ago was the Mole National Park. I was simply disappointed with the experience I had. The only mitigating factor was that it was a group visit with professional colleagues and family members. To begin with, as a child I had heard a lot of Damongo and the name alone excited me so much that when the opportunity occurred for the three day trip to Mole through Damongo, it was an opportunity come true.
The journey started at around 5.30 am at the head office of the Institute of Chartered Accountants (Ghana) in a chartered Mercedes Benz bus on Friday. The journey took us through the tortuous underdeveloped tourism averse road from Nsawam to Suhum. By the time we got to Suhum, the hungry ones among us decided to get some Hausa koko and kose to drink and eat. That must have offered some well needed economic activity for the inhabitants there. The next major stop was at Kumasi where we had lunch at McKeown Restaurant. The journey from Kumasi to Buipe was uneventful. We had been told that from Buipe, there were two alternate routes to Mole so we stopped for directions from two local men. We had two different advices. One was to journey straight on the Tamale road and turn off at Fufulso to the left. The other was to turn off to the left immediately after crossing the Volta River. We took the first option. By the time we got to Fufulso, it was about 6.00pm.
The journey from Fufulso to Damango was hell. It took us close to three hours in dark thick jungle, a journey which under normal circumstances should not have taken us more than thirty minutes. Throughout the journey, we met less than four vehicles and came across one settlement we could call a village. At one point, somebody on a motor cycle started following us. What I did not know but got to hear from my colleagues later on was that they prayed throughout the whole of the journey. Their prayers became more pronounced when the motor cycle suddenly appeared believing that it was an armed robber tailing us. By the time we got to Mole and had a late dinner, we were all tired to the bones. Later, were to be told by the guards at the Park that not long ago, armed robbers attacked visitors on the road, resulting in the death of two of the armed robbers.
On Saturday morning after breakfast, we took a safari tour of the Park to observe the various species of animals at the park. While some of us went by jungle Jeeps, others decided to do a jungle walk. We were highly disappointed by the limited types of species in the Park, the prominent one being the deer species. The guards kept keeping our imaginations on tenterhooks of sighting elephants which never happened. How can we compete with the East African countries in safari? I certainly had pity on the white tourists who had come to experience the African safari in Ghana. It was a complete waste of time and funds. There was an apology of a craft shop offering items for sale. In the afternoon, we went to the Larabanga Mosque and took a trip to watch the mystic stone. Even though these places were supposed to be famous ancient sites, they have not been properly preserved as tourist sites. After a few other tours of an uneventful trip to Magnori and to where the Mole River passes, we came back to have lunch around 3pm. All these historical sites have their own story to tell. Sadly enough, there is no structured system in place to preserve them, to receive visitors and to take them on tour.
The poverty I witnessed on that Saturday was unacceptable, considering that the constituency lies in domain of some of the prominent members in government. The moment we step out of our bus, a multitude of kids surrounded us and became our constant companions, apparently looking to us for some means of subsistence. Some of us obliged them by either offering them money or buying sweets and biscuits for them. It then occurred to me that we could have collected used clothing for them. There was this gentleman, perhaps the oldest among them, about 24 years old, who acted as the tour guide for the Larabanga Mosque. He spoke good English so I asked of his background. He told me had completed SHS and gained aggregate 12. But because of poverty, he could not continue to the university. His father had 12 children. So he spent his time acting as tour guide. He and his colleague spent some time selling fugu to interested tourists.
One was Issaka Laribenga with telephone number 024 ? 7811471 and the other Muniru with telephone number 054 ? 7649612. Anybody who can offer them help can get in touch with them. Most of the women spent their time selling yams and it was a struggle trying to buy any yams as they all competed fiercely for attention.
On Sunday, we set off from Mole National Park to Accra after 6am, after we have had our breakfast. Due to the experience we had when we used the Fufulso to Damongo Road, we decided to use the Damongo ? Sawla to Wenchi Road, even though it?s a longer distance. We made a stopover in Kumasi to have launch at the McKeown Restaurant. Even though the Wenchi route is far compared to the Kintampo route, we reached Accra at about 8.30pm.
The trip was an eye opener. I do not have any doubt in my mind that our presidential candidates accompanied by their fellow politicians must have visited all those places like the Mole and Fufulso areas several times while on campaign tour. What happens after the elections? What about the parliamentarians and the opinion leaders from that area? Prof. James Watson, stand up and counted.
E-mail: [email protected]
By Kwame Gyasi
