PRESERVE HISTORICAL BUILDINGS IN TWIN-CITY (PAGE 25)

There are many historical buildings in the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi but have been left in deplorable conditions.
Some of the buildings are the old court buildings, Fort Orange, First West African Bank and offices of the district commissioner, popularly known as the DC, offices of the Daily Telegraph, a British newspaper house. These buildings have very beautiful architectural designs and this is evident even in their present state of disrepair.
The only thing keeping some of these buildings alive is that some residents who have accommodation problems are occupying them.
A close look at these structures indicates that they have not been maintained for a long time and most of them are a potential danger to the lives of people who live near them, especially those around the beach in Sekondi, as they can collapse on them.
In developed countries such as the Netherlands, France, Spain and Belgium, their historic buildings are preserved and some of them have been adopted by the United Nations.
In Amsterdam, for example, students who go on field studies are asked to make presentations on the history behind certain buildings. In 2002, when this reporter was on a sponsored study tour of the Netherlands, at the University of Professional Studies, Hogschol van Utrecht, he was taken to the Dome, a very huge structure with the floors marked with countless rectangular shapes.
The Dome is a place prominent people were buried and that building has been preserved for exhibition and other activities.
In Spain, there are various buildings put up by Great Surrealists in the Dada and Gaudy movement and the Picassos, among others, where postcards on every stage of the city’s development are printed.
In the twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi however, there are no surrealists, yet there are very important buildings, which, if maintained and their rich history chronicled, would do the twin-city a lot of good.
For example, where did Nana Kobina Nketsia IV, the Omanhen of the Essikado Traditional Area, and one of the traditional rulers who were in the vanguard of the independence struggle alongside the politicians who proclaimed the “Positive Action” live? one might ask.
The magnificent structure in the heart of Sekondi, which used to house the offices of the Daily Telegraph, has been left to rot.
A greater part of the building has collapsed and some individuals who might not know the history of the place are occupying the remaining part.
Also, the building which used to house the First West African Bank has completely collapsed. But for the fact that the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority currently uses Fort Orange as a light house, that also would have been likened to Fort Prizestine at Keta, which the sea consumed some years ago.
Interestingly, the situation at Sekondi is the direct opposite of what pertains in the city of Barcelona in Spain, where in the months of June, people from all over the world visit its financial district of Catalonya, walk on the Ramblem to the port, board the air bus to the Gaudy Centre, tour the city, the Olympic Village, Picasso and other museums and pay some fees.
On sight, one would see anything worth his/her attention at these historical sites as the tour guides add to one’s joy or otherwise when they narrate the history behind those structures and show photographs. It’s really amazing.
It is sad that in Sekondi, structures that housed the first post office, the First West African Bank, the Daily Telegraph and other interesting places have been left to collapse without any attempt to preserve or document the history behind them.
In the United States, there are, for example, the Capitol Building on the Capitol Hill in Washington DC, the town hall in Philadelphia, the Freedom Bell and other historical monuments, which have been preserved and have great visitor attractions, providing jobs for the youth as tour guides.
Our case is a sorry one. The Museums and Monument Board and the Ghana Tourism Board seem to have divided opinions over who should be in charge of these buildings and to preserve them.
It is the hope of this reporter that the traditional and metropolitan authorities will take keen interest in these buildings and chronicle the history behind them for posterity. The development and preservation of the historical building would create jobs and be a source of great revenue for the assemblies.