GHANAIAN President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo unveiled the newly refurbished Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park in Accra on Tuesday, aiming to enhance tourism and honour the country’s first president. The park, which underwent renovations as part of a five-year government project, now features a presidential library, receptor facility, mini-amphitheatre, restaurant, Freedom Walk, and a digitalised payment system.
During the reopening ceremony, President Akufo-Addo expressed his vision for the park to become a premier tourism and heritage attraction in West Africa. He emphasised that the final resting place of Kwame Nkrumah, an esteemed Pan-Africanist and a key figure in Africa’s liberation from colonialism, should befit his monumental legacy.
Before the refurbishment, the park already attracted
around 90,000 visitors annually. However, President Akufo-Addo set an ambitious target of welcoming more than one million tourists per year following the renovations. The Ghanaian government aims to leverage the park’s reopening to boost the country’s tourism and hospitality sectors, considering them vital drivers of socio-economic development.
Pierre Laporte, the World Bank country director for Ghana, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, expressed
the institution’s satisfaction in supporting the renovation project and pledged continued assistance to Ghana’s tourism sector. Laporte acknowledged Kwame Nkrumah’s lasting impact, referring to him as one of the most significant leaders of the 20th century.
The reopening of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park signifies Ghana’s commitment to preserving its cultural heritage, promoting tourism, and honouring the legacy of a visionary leader who played a crucial role in Africa’s struggle for independence.
