“Why Benin and South Africa?” you might ask? Well this map says it all!

Freedom Africa Map

Now the question remains, “Why not Ghana?” Along with Benin, Ghana is free! And South Africa already has a big presence here in Ghana…in the retail trade sector with the presence of GAME and SAFEWAY here and in the mining sector. South African Airways flies here as well.

BUT GHANA DOESN’T HAVE THE SAME RELATIONSHIP! Citizens of both countries require VISAS to visit one another’s countries for tourism purposes.

This could be a first step, a case study for Ghana in opening up its borders to tourists. After all the Ghana Tourism Authority is on record that it is leaving no stone unturned in its quest to make Ghana the hub and the hot bed of tourism.

Should you go to the Africa Travel and Tourism linkedin group site, you will see a new comment about the Ghana Tourism Authority’s executive director, Julius Debrah…..let’s see if Mr. Debrah stands behind the authority’s pledge to leave no stone unturned as he runs for a parliamentary seat in the Suhum constituency.

The second discussionon the GHANA TRAVEL AND TOURISM linkedin group started off as a comment on a new initiative building a luxury hotel in Bolgatanga that would join the fight in poverty reduction through sponsoring local youth.

Here is the last comment:
Lyssiemay Annoh •

“Chris you have always said that visitors to Ghana do not arrive through the usual tourism channel but from word of mouth. This means that income from tourist visas is not very high. Ghana needs the revenue generated from Visas for the upkeep of its Embassies as well as to promote tourism. Very soon Ghana will become a destination that you trawl through the internet to visit and then short-term visas will not become necessary.”

Surely, you have a retort for this!

JOIN THE CONVERSATION…LET’S NOT GIVE UP. THERE IS TOO MUCH AT STAKE!

IDEAS, STRATEGIES WELCOME.

I also know I’m in Montreal because twice a week I buy a Lotto 6-49 ticket. What would I do if I won a sizeable jackpot?

I’d buy Mayor Samuel Sarpong, Chief Executive of Kumasi, a round trip ticket to Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city of eleven million and fourth largest city in the world.

Why? Because Sao Paulo banned outdoor advertising five years ago and this is the result….a more vibrant city

Hopefully, our mayor Sarpong might meet Gilberto Kassab, the populist mayor of Sao Paulo who enacted “The Clean City Law” amidst all the controversy and opposition. The irony here of course is Kumasi’s Mayor Sarpong is not an elected mayor but rather an appointed mayor. He would have nothing to lose, and Kumasi would have everything to gain. Kumasi could then live up to its name THE GARDEN CITY OF WEST AFRICA and remind the world that it’s a city’s inhabitants and cultural heritage that bring the true flavor.

Last year my resolution was to get the electricity cut from the apeteshie bar, an unauthorized structure behind FOUR VILLAGES INN. It wasn’t easy as the nine part blog entry testifies.

This year’s resolution idea came as I sat down by Lake Bosomtwe on a recent R & R break watching the planes fly over the lake on their way to Kumasi Airport…ALL DURING DAY LIGHT HOURS!
Thoughts began racing through my mind…..”What ever happened to night flights? Oh yes, they were scrapped when safety regulations regarding runway lights started to be enforced. Why after all these years haven’t any been installed? It can’t be that expensive…of course it’s all part of latent strategy by decision makers who live, work, and have invested in Accra, Ghana’s ever-growing capital city, to isolate all wealth there.

Ya see pre-2005 flights there was a night flight to Kumasi by City Link airlines, the one and only carrier flying here. It left Accra at 8:45 p.m. which gave enough time for passengers to transfer from the international flights thus avoiding the high hotel rates charged in Accra. Today in 2012, there are more and more international flights arriving in Accra and now there four airlines flying to Kumasi. Night flights would represent a lot of business for this depressed city.

Anyways, MADinGHANA’s one and only resolution is to lobby for runway lights for Kumasi Airport that serves this city of 1,500,000 people and a region of 3,000,000 people.

Your suggestions on strategies, ideas, etc. would be most appreciated because over the years the gray cells have somewhat depleted and the spirit weakened by the brick walls thrown up continually by the pervading atmosphere of fear, lethargy, and apathy that characterizes civil society.

I do know that this little mouse-the smallest guest house in Kumasi- has to get some powerful lions interested. Hopefully, the general manager of the Golden Tulip Kumasi City comes on board. Ya see with night flights to Kumasi, the Golden Tulip Kumasi City, Kumasi’s only four-star hotel, with 160 rooms making it the largest, would sure to benefit.

I did get some encouragement through an e-mail I received from the former Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana Darren Schemmer following a linked in discussion I started:

Chris Scott So…who does the business community petition to get runway lights for KUMASI AIRPORT? Accra is getting their upgrade, but Kumasi, Ghana’s second city or should I write Ghana’s second rate city, hasn’t any lights whatsoever! How it would benefit local business, especially…more

Ghana Airport Company to evaluate electrical system at KIA modernghana.com
Mrs Doreen Owusu Fianko, Managing Director of the Ghana Airports Company Limited GACL, on Monday said the Company would soon undertake…

Like Comment (1) Share 25 days ago
Darren Schemmer

Kumasi also needs scheduled international flights – at least to Lagos and Abidjan. I’m glad Ghana is prospering, but too much of the economy is funneled through Accra. A better airport in Kumasi would be one step to supporting more economic activity directly inland. 17 days ago

…………

is tired of stupid Ghanaian policemen and their persistent harassment of tourists, well harassment of any ordinary person, if the police idiot is in a bad mood. Greedy hotel owners and inn-keepers were also close to destroying an otherwise nice holiday where the north (Mole and Tamale) were the highlights.

All the many comments following the above are in a foreign language, so I can’t tell you what they say, but here’s my response:

Christopher Scott: Hope you write reviews of the particular hotels/inns on the Bradt update site http://bradtghanaupdate.wordpress.com/

and about police misconduct the email address to make complaints is pips@ghanapolice.info PIPS stands for Police Intelligence and Professional Standards.

POSTSCRIPT: OTHER CONTACT INFO FOR THE GHANA POLICE SERVICE CAN BE FOUND AT THE SITE BELOW:
http://www.ghanapolice.info/contact.htm

that's one hell of a lot of sodium bicarbonate

So it happened, four Brits and a German busted here in Ghana with a ton of cocaine! However….this is news to the Head of the Narcotics Control Board here in Ghana!

Whatever..let’s NOT hear the alarmists drive another nail into the coffin of Ghanaian tourism by increasing requirements to procure a VISA into Ghana. Already the requirements, increased in 2011, are too restrictive and they didn’t keep these drug traffickers out. Just maybe there’s a link between increased drug trafficking and the corruption that plagues the Ghanaian justice system, the latest scandal seeing evidence tampering with the substitution of cocaine with baking soda! It surely isn’t a result of lax VISA requirements.

And look at the amount seized! Do you actually think that one ton of cocaine came into Ghana through Kotoka International Airport smuggled in dreadlocks or suitcases?

No, so let’s not victimize tourism, a sector that has seen so much private investment since CAN 2008 and provides so much employment to the youth of GHANA.

I wonder if Palace Travel authorized this condemnation of travel advisories issued for MALI.

Dear Travel Partners:

We are aware that some Foreign Service Advisories have issued security alerts regarding Mali. These security alerts are largely related to the belief that there is an Al-Qaida presence in the north of the country.

Unfortunately, these exaggerated Foreign Service Reports have unfairly painted our country in a bad light. The actions or potential actions of a very few have influenced the views of many, and our country has been inaccurately portrayed. The weight that the name Al Qaeda carries in the West is heavy, and inarguably it should; but Mali is not a country governed by violence or terrorists. We Malians are a peaceful and friendly people. We have opened our homes, hearts and borders to peaceful visitors from all over the world who are interested in learning about our culture and want to visit some of the numerous historic sites.

Entrepreneurs and established multinational corporations from all over the world have ongoing commercial transactions in Mali and are not the least bit hesitant to come here.

Malian security forces together with the security forces from neighboring countries including Mauritania, Niger and Burkina Faso are concerned about the damage these rumors are doing to the economies of our countries, and have been combining their efforts to eliminate any threats to visitors and nationals alike.

At times people living outside of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Algeria and Mauritania may get the wrong impression and believe that our countries are continually on the brink of war, and that at any moment a visitor may be harmed. But nothing could be further from the truth, our cities are just like many in the West, each area has its bad spots but is overwhelmingly safe. In truth, it is much safer to walk the streets of any Malian city, village or neighborhood than it is to roam New York City, Paris, London or numerous other Western cities.

There are many Europeans, North Americans and Asians living and working in Mali year round, and they do so without ever encountering any unpleasantness and certainly no violence. Many volunteers from the United States Peace Corps continue to spend upwards of two years living in remote villages throughout Mali, and they face none of the problems implied by the Western Media reports.

Please note that there are no tourist sites in those parts of Mali where kidnappings are said to have occurred, and no travel company conduct tours in those remote areas where AQMI is said to be operating.

Please also note that Continent Tours and other reputable travel companies suffer financially and emotionally anytime a client has a bad experience within our borders, be it a long wait at the airport or any minor inconvenience. Since Tourism is our profession and livelihood, the wellbeing of our clients is of utmost importance to us.

No tour company would knowingly take the chance to expose a guest to danger, however remote the chance.

Tourism is important to the entire Malian population, and we will continue to do whatever is necessary to ensure that visitors will not only return to Mali again and again, but will encourage others to visit.

If there were ever the slightest indication that you our guest would be in danger, we would insist that you postpone your trip until the conditions are such that your visit will be pleasant and memorable.

Today, Mali is safe and we invite you to visit.

With our very best regards,

Mamadou GOITA
General Manager
Continent Tours, SARL
Bamako, Mali
+223.20.22.70.89
info@continenttours.com
www.continenttours.com

Now read the latest…a total of nine foreigners have been kidnapped and one killed!

And here’s another interesting take on the situation.

How fragile the tourism industry is. Just look at Kenya and the Lamau area. A vibrant tourism industry decimated.

BUT IN GHANA WE ARE BLESSED, SO BLESSED THAT WE HAVE BEEN RATED IN THE TOP 10 TOURIST DESTINATIONS IN THE WORLD BY FROMMER!

Now you would think that it would be cause for celebration! Not this Rotarian!

ROTARY DOES NOT BUILD. At least that was what I was led to believe.

But I have had first hand experience here that Rotary does build and, like any organization disregarding its mantras, it was a disaster and has led to a lot of acrimony. But enough of that. I will focus on one crucial point in the article…

What is disturbing here is that there is no mention of Ghanaian Rotarian officials present at the ceremony. A local Ghanaian club must ensure accountability that the Swedish club’s money has been wisely spent.

Oh, I could say so much more…but after awhile you just lose your energy.

ROTARY IS NOT AN N.G.O.
IT IS A SERVICE CLUB THAT ACTS LOCALLY TO MEET LOCAL NEEDS.

But here @ madinghana…..it’s another story…purely cathartic…perhaps unprofessional, but I gotta vent because these situations happen all too often….

Recently a parting visitor wrote in our guest book “THE EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD”. This has prompted me to write a post about another side to doing business in Ghana, specifically the hotel business. It concerns no shows and one particular no-show in particular.

On June 17, a man who will remain anonymous made a booking for a double room for September 30th, for two nights. Here is the correspondence. I hope it reads quickly…..at the end some observations.

CORRESPONDENCE:
First the booking…

1. June17, 2011 booking made using our on-line booking form from our web site where rates are quoted.

The following data was submitted in the form named fourvillages by a visitor

FirstName: X

LastName X

StreetAddress X

City X

StateRegion X

PostalCode X

Country X

Telephone X

Email X

ArrivalDate

30-09-2011

NumberOfNights

2

NumberOfRooms

One Room

NumberOfPeopleInRoom

Two

MealOnArrival

No

HowManyMeals

None

2.Reply to booking June 17, 2011:

Warm greetings from Kumasi, Ghana

One double room is reserved in your name for two nights arriving September 30 leaving October 2 at a rate of US$90.00 or Ghana cedi equivalent includes full breakfast, excludes 15% V.A.T.

Please confirm acceptance of conditions by email and should there be any change, please let us know as soon as possible.

Best wishes,

Chris, Host
233-(0)3220-22682 233-(0)20-7667559 scottash@hotmail.com
www.fourvillages.com/

http://madinghana.wordpress.com/

CELEBRATING TEN YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN GHANA
“EASILY THE NICEST PLACE TO STAY IN KUMASI.” ROUGH GUIDE TO WEST AFRICA, JUNE, 2008
KUMASI #1 GUESTHOUSE/B&B ON THE TRIP ADVISOR SITE
“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED” 2010 EDITION OF BRADT GUIDE TO GHANA
3 x GUEST HOUSE OF THE YEAR WINNER, FREE WIRELESS INTERNET, MULTI TV

3. next correspondence from X dated 20 June, 2011

I want to confirm our stay. Can you give us some sort of reference or verification of our stay? Can we pay in advance? thank you

4. reply by Four Villages Inn on June 17th, 2011

Dear X

All confirmed…no VISA to secure a room here in Kumasi so no advanced payment…not to worry, we respect people’s reservations despite the fact that they don”t..Lost revenues on 6 rooms through last minute cancellations and no-shows last week!..but such is doing business in the developing world…please don’t worry about us we are honorable and reputable.

See you on September 30. Safe travels to Ghana and Kumasi.

Best wishes,

Chris, Host

4. reply from X on June 20, 2011:

Ok sounds good and thank you for the timely response

SEPTEMBER 30 AND OCTOBER 1: NO-SHOW

5. Correspondence dated October 9 from Four Villages Inn to x after seeing pictures on a local tour operator’s Face Book page titled “X’s WITH PARTNER TOUR”

Greetings from Ghana,

I see on the internet that you did vacation in Ghana recently.

Four Villages Inn was expecting you on September 30 leaving on October 2. As I stated in my email, we are honourable and reputable and we hold rooms for those who make bookings. Your no-show did cost us revenue losing another client. To be frank, the irony is killing.

May I respectfully enquire why you didn’t honour your confirmed booking, but perhaps more importantly why you didn’t inform us.

I hope you had a wonderful time in Ghana.

Best wishes,

Charity and Chris Scott, Hosts

6. Reply from X to Four Villages Inn dated October 9, 2011

sorry about this. We hooked up with a local tour operator as I’m sure you know him. He told me that u guys did. I also thought he called you guys. The price was high at the moment for us. Sorry for not informing you.

Sent from my Windows Phone

Email sent to tour company owner with a copy to no-show man dated October 11, 2011:

Good Day, local tour operator:

My wife Charity is just off the phone with you. I wanted to share the correspondence with you. The original booking was made on June 17! And yet, we held the room for X and partner. We lost revenue because we respected the booking made three and a half months previously.

Moreover, I was indeed surprised that you told my wife that you didn’t know of the booking. Mr x wrote that you knew us and thought you would phone Four Villages to cancel the booking. Of course it was not your responsibility to inform us. He made the booking. And I see on the internet he is in ICT business-maybe he could have e-mailed us…Whatever, he knew Four Villages Inn was a small four room enterprise and not an hotel and we had assured him in writing that we respected people’s booking here at Four Villages….

The irony is so evident. In all the years we have been operating nobody has ever asked for a reference/verification number and yet it is he who doesn’t make the effort to phone and cancel the booking.

Whatever happened, it was, as we say here in Ghana, not correct. And all X writes is he’s sorry, throws the blame on you, and says his money situation had changed. Well of course it would change when he hires you, an award-winning travel and tour company. So why not get in touch with us? I wonder if he victimized any other establishment.

Judging by the pictures local tour operator it looks like they had a wonderful time. Only why did our little mom and pop business have to be hurt?

I don’t expect a reply from you…you have your hotels, your contacts, your business.

Best wishes,

Chris

and last from no-show man on October 12, 2011

Hi,

I hope all is well today and business is as it should be. I just wanted to clarify and hope we can come to some understanding. Local tour operator has nothing to do with our decision in not attending our reservation with you guys. He assumed that we had just called for the pricing of the room. We were not clear to him that we did make a reservation. Being that communication was slim we did not think to call until it was too late to cancel our reservation. Our minds were caught up in our journey we did not think to call. Local tour operator had found us something within our price range throughout our whole trip. I also want to make it clear that local tour operator’s assistance was spontaneous and wasn’t planned out from the beginning. We met local tour operator a few days after we were in Accra not Kumasi. Also, I do not want you to have any tension against local tour operator or me and my wife for that matter. It’s not necessary and we all need to stick together. Again I apologize for not keeping my word and at least calling to cancel my reservation. Please forgive me. I’ve heard great things about your business and will recommend folks that will fit in that budget.

thank you,
X

so there…..that’s the story told through the correspondence….

OBSERVATION: 1. “So why don’t you get a VISA machine”, I can hear you ask.
We had one. The Standard Chartered Bank came one day and took it away. It was the electronic one..punch in the totals and out comes the receipt. It worked great for years.
Then one day bank officials came and took the terminal away. No explanation. This happened four years ago!
Last week I went to Standard Chartered Bank to see if the service had been reinstated. It hasn’t and still no explanation why!

2. And if you are a local tour operator, you can post the pictures of your clients on your facebook page WITHOUT NAMING THEM. We’d never of known them…..

Phew I feel better…thanks for bearing with me to the bitter end….perhaps we are the EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD…hee, hee.

Comment: A lot of aid goes to northern Ghana. I remember a diplomat saying that if all the money that has gone north through government programs and aid assistance had gone directly to the people, they would all be driving around in Mercedes Benzs and living in luxury houses!
Well, bring on the technology and watch people’s lives improve dramatically!

On October 6, 2011, a headline on Page 14 of the Ghanaian Times of October reads:

“500,000 dollar library abandoned”

Why has the Osu Cildren’s Library not opened??? Answer: There are no speed bumps to cross the busy road to get to the library! Can ya believe it?

Now here are four reasons why I write this post:

1. the words “speed bumps” hits a raw nerve. If you follow this blog, you’ll know why.
Suggestion: The powers that be at the Accra Collage of Education where the library is located and the Osu Children’s Library Fund should contact the powers that be at the Enas Hybrid School on Melcom Road between Ahodwo and Daban, Kumasi, for tips on how to get speed bumps constructed. They got speed bumps built pronto where speed bumps were not scheduled to be built and after the Kumasi metro urban roads had said, “Not every school has speed bumps.”

2. The project was funded by the Osu Children’s Library Fund founded by Kathy Knowles from Canada. In an email interview with the Times,  Ms. Knowles  said that she was “heart-broken” that the library was not up and running. She also said that she was delaying her trip to Ghana until the library was operational and that other children’s library projects would be put on hold until this particular library was open.

3. I feel strongly about children’s libraries here in Ghana. I was ‘library tutor’ for eight years at two Ghana Education Service institutions during the 1970s.

4. Lately, Politicians and senior civil servants in Accra have been making such eloquent speeches on how important reading is to the development of Ghana.

Let us all say a prayer that  the speed bumps are constructed and the library is opened…..