Renovation of Memorial Park was done for tourism purposes rather than out of reverence for Nkrumah – CPP

he Convention People’s Party (CPP) has expressed its dissatisfaction with the renovation of the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, stating that it was primarily motivated by the potential economic benefits rather than respect for the memory of Ghana’s first president.

Nana Yaa Jantuah, the General Secretary of the CPP, voiced her concerns in an exclusive interview with Citi News.

She pointed out that, despite the party’s long-standing commitment to upholding the ideals and legacy of Dr. Nkrumah, they were entirely excluded from the planning committees and subsequent commissioning of the revamped facility.

Jantuah alleged that President Akufo-Addo had deliberately altered significant dates and memories associated with Dr. Nkrumah, ever since he assumed office in order to align them with the Busia-Dombo tradition.

She cited the recent change in the design of the GH¢2 note to a coin without Nkrumah’s image.

The CPP representative further criticized the decision to rename Nkrumah’s birthday as Founders’ Day, while naming September 21 as Nkrumah Memorial Day, viewing it as another instance of marginalizing Ghana’s first president

“Dr. Kwame Nkrumah emerged from a political party, namely the CPP. However, we were neither invited to contribute to the renovation committee nor consulted in any capacity for the event. We could have provided relevant materials for the Nkrumah library,” Jantuah lamented.

Nana Yaa Jantuah expressed her disappointment with the president’s focus on giving the Dr. Nkrumah Memorial Park, a facelift without considering the political party he championed during his presidency.

The CPP remains dissatisfied with the apparent disregard for Dr. Nkrumah’s legacy and believes the renovation should have been approached differently.

“Have you seen this president (Akufo-Addo) say anything good about Dr. Kwame Nkrumah? He’s always projecting his tradition [Busia-Dombo] over Dr. Kwame Nkrumah,” she added.