The Edina Traditional Council in the Komenda Edina-Eguafo Abrem Municipality (KEEA) of the Central Region has threatened to ban visitors from Elmina Castle if the Minister of Tourism fails to pay outstanding royalties.
According to the Council, the Ministry has refused to address their demands, and they may invoke curses to disrupt tourist activities at the facility.
The Traditional Council explained that Elmina Castle is located on lands belonging to the Edina Traditional Area.
It said the Ministry of Tourism, through the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, which manages all castles in the country, has failed to pay them 20% of the proceeds since 2009 as directed by law.
Speaking during the Elmina Castle 544th Anniversary Commemoration and the Relaunch of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board Heritage Dialogue Series at the premises, the Paramount Chief of the Edina Traditional Council, His Royal Majesty Nana Kodwo Conduah VI, said, during former President John Agyekum Kufuor’s administration, the then Minister for Tourism, the late Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, released some money to the Traditional Council after several appeals.
However, since the administration of former President John Evans Atta Mills assumed power, the 20% royalties directed by law were cancelled and nothing has been paid by the current government.
He stated that the money received during President Kufuor’s time was used to enroll needy but brilliant students within the traditional area into school, and to support other important community projects.
“I am calling on the Minister of Tourism, Hon. Abla Dzifa Gomashie, to address our concerns, or we will be compelled to carry out our threat by performing traditional rituals and invoking the gods of Elmina land against the operations of Elmina Castle in the coming days,” Nana Conduah VI declared.
The event, on the theme “Reclaiming Ghana Museums and Monuments Board’s Legacy; Advancing Museums, Heritage and Scholarship,” brought together students from Edinaman Senior High School, staff of KEEA Municipal Assembly, Ghana Tourism Authority, Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust, Centre for National Culture, chiefs and residents.
The Central Regional Director for the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Mr. Clifford Mensah, in his welcome address, urged the general public to use the commemoration and dialogue series to reflect, transform remembrance into responsibility, and preserve heritage for future generations.
He explained that castles must remain not only as sites of reckoning but also as places of remembrance and renewal.
“I therefore invite each and every one of you to join us in this journey. Let us honor the sacrifices of the past, heed the wisdom of our heroes, and commit ourselves to building a better future”.
Historian Professor Anthony Annan-Prah, in his keynote address on the significance of Elmina Castle, said the introduction of castles affected Ghanaian culture and customs.
He indicated that allowing foreigners to build castles in various communities influenced and changed the beliefs, names of towns, and trade practices of the people.
Prof. Annan-Prah admonished Ghanaians to forgive the atrocities of the slave trade and urged citizens to continue to uphold and promote their heritage.
By Timothy Gaison
