MMCET Dean on Tourism lapses

“No country will prosper touristically without a national carrier, i.e. a national airline and a national frequency which is the right to fly flag.”

Those were the words of the Dean of the Faculty of Hotel, Tourism and Nutritional Science at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology, Mr. Ken Bangura, while he was outlining the problems affecting the development of the nation’s tourist industry.

He outrightly condemned the destruction of most of this country’s cultural heritages which he referred to as of high tourist value, citing the Leone Garden, the first Sierra Leonean Christian Bishop, Adjaji Crowder which was located at the Cathedral Primary School and the Cape Sierra Hotel, among others.

“We have no galleries, no theatres and our museum is woefully ill-equipped for tourist attraction,” he stated frustratingly.

Mr. Bangura also frowned at the lack of inter-collegiate cultural activities in our schools and colleges. He further condemned our flagrant neglect of our national music such as the Merirge type of music which he described as the first national music.

The Dean expressed disappointment over the sad fact that over the years government has not been much involved in hotel construction as evidenced in the fact there are only two functional government hotels, the Hotel Bintumani and the Mammy Yoko Hotel

“The scarcity of government hotels has rendered many of our graduating students jobless as many private hotels refuse to employ them,” he said, recommending more involvement of government in hotel construction to enhance the tourist industry.

He also urged government to pass the Tourism Act into law so as to protect the tourist industry, and to sponsor the education of citizens in our cultural heritage.

By Joseph Milton Lebbie

Photograph credit:  book cover, Africa, Sierra Leone by Judy L Hasday

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