Nkrumah Memorial Park captivating after $3.5m redevelopment

All is set for President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to commission the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park which has been redeveloped into a world-class tourism park today Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

This further concretises the Pan-African Triangular Centre — the George Padmore Library, the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre for Pan-Africanism and the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park — thereby consolidating Ghana’s position as the foremost centre of Pan-Africanism and Diaspora research.

$3.5m World Bank funded project

The $3.5 million redevelopment was funded by the World Bank under the Ghana Tourism Development Project.

Receptive facility

The world-class tourism park now houses a presidential library, providing visitors with access to an extensive collection of historical materials and documents related to Dr. Nkrumah’s life and legacy.

Audio-visual fountain

One of the highlights of the redevelopment is the transformation of the existing fountain into an audio-visual spectacle.

The upgraded fountain now incorporates captivating visuals and synchronized music, creating a mesmerizing experience for all who visit.

Museum expansion

The museum at the Park has undergone a significant expansion.

With increased gallery space and state-of-the-art audio-visual capabilities, the museum offers an immersive and educational.

Upgraded road and drainage network

The redevelopment also focused on improving the surrounding infrastructure.

The road within the Park has been upgraded to provide a smoother and safer journey for visitors.

Upgraded car park

To cater to the increasing number of visitors, the car park has been improved with increased capacity, allowing for smoother and more organized parking arrangements.

A gift shop

The new park also hosts a gift shop where visitors can find unique memorabilia.

Restaurant, toilets, drainage network

It also boasts of a restaurant offering diverse culinary experience, toilet facilities to ensure convenience and comfort of visitors and new and efficient drainage network to mitigate any potential issues during the rainy season.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park Presidential Library

Other additional features include digitalized ticketing system.

Built in 1991 by the Jerry Rawlings-led Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) government, the park, which sits at the Old Polo Grounds and covers an area of 5.3 acres, is where Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, flanked by his comrades in the Convention People’s Party (CPP) — Kojo Botsio, Komla Agbeli Gbedemah, Archie Casely- Hayford and Krobo Edusei — declared Ghana’s independence on March 6, 1957 before a huge ecstatic crowd.

It is the final resting place of Dr. Nkrumah and his wife, Fathia Nkrumah, and hosts rare artifacts relating to Ghana’s independence.

The remains of the ex-President, which were originally interred in his home town, Nkroful in the Western Region, were moved to the mausoleum that was constructed at the park.

The Park was opened to the public in 1992.

Since its establishment in 1992, visitors from all over the world numbering up to about 98,000 each year, come and pay homage to Ghana’s first President, learn about his life, and legacies.

The Park is one of the 10 most visited sites in Ghana.

After 25 years of existence of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the facility had not seen any meaningful facelift. Indeed, at a point the fountains (which are major attractions) were not functioning well or regularly thus affecting visitations.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park audio-visual fountain

Moreover, the roof of the museum leaked each time it rained making it difficult to conduct visitors around.

The situation was not different at the VIP lounge where most VIP guest of the State signed the visitors’ books after their tour.

Additionally, the main corridor to the washrooms and some parts of the washrooms were in a deplorable state.

In 2017, when President Akufo Addo took over as President of the Republic of Ghana, and recognize the important role of tourism in the development of the country, he declared Tourism as social advancement, with the potential to give a big boost to the economy.

In 2018, President Akufo Addo secured a $40 million loan facility from the World Bank through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to; strengthen and enable the tourism environment; to address constraints most likely to have transformative impact on the sector; develop tourism sites and destinations; and finance the costs of tourism enterprises and business development services and training.

On May 27, this year, the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture closed the park until further notice for major renovation works.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park gardens

On July 19, 2022, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, cut sod for the commencement of the rehabilitation and redevelopment of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park and Mausoleum.

The reconstruction maintains the historical value of the Park, increase its visitor capacity and improve service delivery to visitors.

The redevelopment has been completed and will be commissioned today Tuesday, July 4, 2023.

Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park digitized gates