Accra (Greater Accra)
02 April 2003- Kwamena Bartels, outgoing Acting Minister of Tourism, on Tuesday
described budgetary allocation to the Ministry as "peanuts" saying,
the amount is not capable of developing the industry to competitive levels in
the Sub-Region.
He said the budget
allocated to the Ministry was limited and was a serious constraint to raising
the standards in the tourism industry. Bartels, who was addressing the
Meet-The-Press Series in Accra, said he was, however, optimistic that
programmes, projects and effective collaborative efforts by the Ministry and
its agencies - Ghana Tourist Board, Ghana Tourist Development Company and the
Hotel Catering and Tourism Training Institute (HOTTCAT) - would work to bridge
the financing gap.
The Minister of
Finance in the 2003 budget allocated 13.6 billion cedis to the Ministry of
Tourism with 1.6 billion cedis going for investment and development purposes.
Bartels said poor and
inadequate infrastructural facilities at tourism sites across the country had
suffered because of a continued low budgetary allocation to the sector He
expressed the hope that the private sector would aid the ministry and
government to realise the changing tastes and expectations of tourists, who
visit the country and bring Ghana to the new heights of international tourism.
Tourism is the nation's fourth largest foreign exchange earner after cocoa,
gold and timber, earning more than a billion cedis in the past year alone.
GRi.../
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Accra (Greater Accra)
02 April 2003
Currency Buying Selling
U.S. Dollar 8,491.00cedis 8,682.73 cedis
Pound Sterling 13,404.74 13,712.64
Swiss Franc 6,264.48 6,402.39
Canadian Dollar 5,791.14 5,918.78
Danish Kroner 1,245.15 1,272.80
Japanese Yen 71.83 73.44
South African Rand 1,073.12 1,097.44
Euro 9,246.56 9,453.08
CFA Franc
14.10 14.41
Naira 67.62 69.14
GRi.../
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