Tema, March 25, GNA—The Abibinsroma Foundation has marked Ghana Heritage Month by trailing the Greenwich Meridian line and championing cleanliness in Tema for the Metropolis to play her proper role as the city at the centre of the world.
The exercise, marked with students from some Second Cycle Schools in Tema, created awareness of the importance of the Meridian line which passes through Tema in Ghana and how that could be packaged to attract tourists and bring in needed revenue for development.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) at the former Meridian Hotel, Tema, the Member of Parliament (MP) of Tema Central, Hon. Nii Noi Hanson-Nortey indicated his joy in seeing young people getting involved in the promotion of cleanliness in the city and championing tourism.
Mr Hanson-Nortey observed that the waste that was generated in the Metropolis came from residents; “Humans engineered the rubbish, and that is why the environment is like that.”
He urged the students to take the development of the Metropolis as their own responsibility, hinting that it was not always that they had to depend on the government for such interventions.
Commenting on the essence of the Meridian line, he recounted how Meridian Hotel used to be an iconic edifice in the whole of West Africa and how Ghana was losing millions of cedis simply because the facility had failed to exist as a hotel at the centre of the world with all the tourist attraction it commanded.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema, Mr Yohanes Amarh Ashitey informed the students, that, in as much as TMA was bracing itself to transform Tema and take advantage of the tourism and other potentials the Metropolis had, it was necessary that all residents kept the environment clean, which would open Tema up for tourism and development.
Mr Robert Amiteye, the Coordinator of the Abibinsroma Foundation, asked Ghanaians to promote domestic tourism by cherishing their heritage including Tema’s status as the centre of the world.
“We believe it is about time the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) and the Government of Ghana came up with proper landmarks or development along the Meridian line so it can be a source of attraction to people,” he added.
Mr Amiteye observed that “People visit the Greenwich Meridian in the UK and pay so much and we have it here lying for decades and nothing to show for it. It is time to find ways to develop it; it is an opportunity for people and businesses to consider developing recreational facilities, shopping centres, parks, etc., along the Meridian line which would create jobs and bring in needed revenue,” he said.
As part of the exercise, the students trailed the Meridian line and identified it with their compasses and GPS from the Engen Filling Station close to the Meridian Hotel, then moved to other landmarks such as the Lagoon Hospital, the Meridian Presbyterian Church, the Meridian Mosque, Community One Site 20, the Tema Meridian Coconut Avenue which was discovered by Mr Amiteye, and the Cocoa Processing Company.
Other partners in the awareness creation are the Miss Tourism Ghana Organization and the TMA.
GNA