Afbeelding
In recent weeks I had the privilege of helping and advising an entrepreneur in Ghana on behalf of PUM on the further sustainable development of a tourist eco-park, with excavations from the Stone Age. Taking two weeks off and with yellow fever vaccination and malaria pills in hand, I immersed myself in the Ghanaian culture, which fell over me like a warm blanket. In addition to the specific question of this entrepreneur, a visit to Ghana was extra interesting because of the unique context, which is the opposite of here in the developed and perhaps even 'spoiled' West: no well-functioning basic infrastructure, little room for investment, many workers, limited economy but plenty of space and potential for development.
I will briefly outline the situation: Ghana is in West Africa and borders Ivory Coast, Burkina-Faso, and Togo. It is characterised by different cultural, ethnic, and religious groups. Overall, Ghana is known for its relatively stable social environment compared to some other countries in the region. That is one of the few similarities with the current Dutch situation... In addition to the official government structure, a lot of power lies within the ethnic structure of local chiefs and regional kingdoms. For example, they decide on the distribution of land for (tourist) development. This unique structure is decisive and leads to limited organizational capacity in the government in many areas. For example, the basic infrastructure is not good, resulting in a lack of good roads, which means that many tourists’ interesting highlights are not developed and are poorly accessible. The country is therefore visited by fewer than a million visitors per year. Ghana has a great need for an influx of foreign tourists who invest money and foreign currency in the economy. There is plenty of tourist potential with many tourist highlights.
So different from the Dutch situation, there is still plenty of room – in fact – great need for economic and tourist-recreational development. The country is full of largely undiscovered tourist gems, such as the dozens of coastal forts that were used in the slave trade in the past. Determining what the world looks like today, is impressive to see and experience. However, the financial resources and governance to further develop, open up and market locations are lacking.
The flawed structure is also characterized by limited legislation; it is up to every Ghanaian to conquer and develop his place, build his own house, and realize basic infrastructure - do as you like. Nevertheless, entrepreneurship in Ghana is still in its infancy and is a privilege for those who are better off, supplemented with experience (and money) gained abroad.
And sustainability? There is no discussion about this (yet) in Ghana… logical given the lack of the basic infrastructure that we have organized here for decades. The question is also: can we expect that from the African countries at this time? Africa is responsible for just 4 percent of global CO2 emissions but is responsible for around 80 percent of the impact of climate change. While China, the US, and Europe have benefited from economic growth for decades and have therefore achieved and largely exceeded their share of negative ecological impacts. This begs the question: how do we deal with countries that are still deprived of significant economic development? Do we also deny them the sustainable development of tourism potential because that does not fit in a future climate-neutral world? In the advice, I developed a 'compass' for my client with various options to achieve sustainable development, more guests, and a longer length of stay in the medium term. If that succeeds, the entire region will benefit enormously.
Menno Stokman
Director CELTH