A visit to the Akumersu Waterfalls in the Eastern Region revealed that the Fall could become one of Ghana's biggest tourism havens if developed to appreciable standards.
Developing the waterfall, many believe, would create jobs for the youth from far and near and prevent them from travelling to the cities to seek non-existing employment opportunities.
Additionally, the Waterfall if developed, would draw tourists and investors from outside the country to facilitate the creation of many opportunities and revenue for the people, to help carry out development activities.
Residents say all previous calls to government, investors, philanthropists and non-governmental organisations to assist the area to develop the available waterfalls have yielded nothing.
Volumes of water run over a bedrock several meters above before falling steeply over a rocky ledge into a plunge pool below with a rainy effect as the watery breeze of the Fall wets every object within fifty meters.
Landlord on whose land the Fall is located, 82-year-old Charles Angmor Adaano called the Fall his “bona fide property” and recalled numerous efforts made over the years to draw the attention of authorities to it.
“It means it is a bona fide property to me,” said Mr. Angmor “I have made [several] approaches to the tourism board to help me establish the Fall.”
According to him, he had been aware of the existence of the Fall for the past fifty years and rehashed earlier appeals for support.
A resident of Akumersu, 75-year-old Tetteh Henry has lived in this community for the past fifty years and has known about the Akumersu Waterfalls forty years ago.
He said, ensuring that the site becomes a bequest of the Krobo people over the years, continue to hit a snag as efforts have not yielded much.
“I’ve been aware of the existence of this Fall for the past forty years and we’ve made efforts to ensure that it becomes a legacy for Krobos. We’ve done this till today. We have on many occasions discussed the potentials of this Fall with various authorities but it has not received the necessary attention,” Mr. Tetteh disclosed.
According to him, the economic values of the site cannot be underestimated as it has the potential of raking in revenue for Akumersu and the entire Krobo community as well as the provision of several job opportunities for the locals.
Coordinator of the KLM Tourism Klub, Teddy Divine Kofi said the grandeur of the place encouraged him to consult an unnamed investor to consider developing the place.
“I consulted my elder that we have a certain area if developed as a tourist site, it will attract lots, from outside and within,” said Mr. Kofi.
He disclosed that plans laid by the investor include segregating the place into an “N and A” (natural and artificial) project with facilities such as a football field, a hotel, a helipad, games centre, a “home of Africa”, paragliding, canopy walkway, gyms, hairdressing saloon, etc.
Eastern Regional Director of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mr. Frederick Adjei-Rudolph when contacted by GhanaWeb admitted that there were many of such tourist attractions in the region but added it was pursuing its core responsibility of selling the sites to potential investors for the necessary development.
“One of our core mandates has to do with marketing of these sites, when it’s up to the development of the site, we collaborate with district Assemblies, traditional authorities who are custodians of most of these resources and if there’s any viable business venture that is attached, we could come into partnership and develop certain attractions but it is not our duty to go into every district and develop whatever they have as an attraction,” said the tourism director.
According to the director, when an attraction is identified and the GTA identifies it as a potential tourist attraction, he said, “two things we can do are, try and look for investors to develop it or we collaborate with the district Assembly in which the attraction is and the owners and come out with an MoU for its development.”
According to Mr. Adjei-Rudolph, the GTA would assess the potentials of the Akumersu and Otrokper waterfalls to determine its next line of action.
Dr. Edward Narh, President of the Manya Klo Development Foundation who among others identify, lobby and encourage the development of various developmental projects in the Manya Krobo area said the group is ready to support any individual or group that shows the intention of developing the Akumersu waterfalls.
GhanaWeb's checks however revealed that the said unnamed investor is Ghanaian pastor, industrialist and entrepreneur, Apostle Dr Kwadwo Safo Kantanka.
