His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo will dedicate the redeveloped Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, which will cost approximately $3.5 million, on July 4, 2023.
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Ghana is a historically significant landmark. It was dedicated to the memory of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, the nation's first president. It also contains the remains of the country's first president and his wife, Fathia Nkrumah.
Dr. Kwame Nkrumah proclaimed Ghana's independence on the former British colonial Polo Grounds, where the Park is located.
The Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park was constructed in 1990 by the late former Head of State, His Excellency Jerry John Rawlings, in honor of Ghana's first President and as part of an effort to preserve the nation's heritage. In 1992, the Park was unveiled to the public.
Since its establishment in 1992, approximately 98,000 visitors from all over the globe come each year to learn about the life and legacy of Ghana's first president. The Park is among the top ten most frequented locations in Ghana.
After 25 years of existence, Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park had not received a significant renovation. In fact, at one point the fountains (which are significant attractions) were not functioning properly or consistently, thereby affecting the number of visitors.
In addition, the museum's roof leaked whenever it poured, making it difficult to guide visitors around.
The situation was the same in the VIP lounge, where the majority of State's VIP guests signed the visitors' diaries after their tour. In addition, the main corridor leading to the restrooms and portions of the restrooms were in a deplorable condition.
In 2017, when His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo assumed the presidency of the Republic of Ghana and acknowledged the significance of tourism to the country's development, he declared tourism to be a social advancement with the potential to provide a substantial economic boost.
In 2018, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo secured a 40 million U.S. Dollar loan facility from the World Bank via the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture in order to: strengthen and enable the tourism environment; address the constraints most likely to have a transformative impact on the sector; develop tourism sites and destinations; and finance the costs of tourism enterprises and business development services and training.
The Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, will turn the first sod on the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum's rehabilitation and redevelopment on July 19, 2022.
The renovation has been completed and will be dedicated on Tuesday, July 4, 2023, by His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, whose ruling party, the New Patriotic Party, recognizes the significance of Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and its contribution to the history of Ghana.
Consequently, the government is making every effort to ensure that the monument is elevated to a status befitting Ghana's first president, while also generating the necessary funds for the country.
