Tourism, culture and the creative arts should receive a greater share of Ghana’s national budget because of their potential contribution to the economy, Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie has argued.
The minister said the sector continued to face challenges securing adequate government resources because it lacked reliable and verifiable data to demonstrate its full economic contribution.
Speaking in an unreleased interview with Pulse Ghana, Gomashie explained that the ministry often struggled to justify its funding requests to the Ministry of Finance because there were insufficient figures showing how much tourism, culture and the creative arts contributed to the country’s economic development.
She believes the sector deserves to be considered among the country’s major economic contributors, arguing that its contribution could rival or exceed that of traditional sectors such as gold and cocoa.
Gomashie acknowledged that unlike sectors such as roads, education and health, the economic contribution of tourism and the creative arts was not always easily captured in the figures used to guide government spending decisions.
She said the ministry was therefore working to strengthen data collection to provide evidence that could influence how national resources were distributed.
The minister said the absence of reliable figures had made it difficult for the sector to communicate its value to policymakers, despite the range of activities and businesses operating within the industry.
As part of efforts to address the problem, Gomashie disclosed that Ghana was working on UNESCO’s 2030 Culture Indicators, a framework designed to measure the contribution of culture to development and a country’s resources.
According to her, the process was nearing completion, with the ministry having submitted its work to UNESCO for validation.
She expressed optimism that Ghana would receive feedback from UNESCO in the coming weeks or months, which would help establish whether the country’s submission met the required standards.
The ministry is also collaborating with the Ghana Statistical Service to improve the collection of data on the sector’s activities.
Credit: pulse.com.gho prove it
