UE/R : LACK OF STAFFING AFFECTS OUR OPERATIONS- MUSEUM MANAGER

By – Masahudu Jinkor

The Regional Principal Education Officer of the Upper East Regional Museum and Monuments Board, Poanab Natiikundivi Prisca Na-ambome Yenzie cited the insufficient government funding as well as lack of required staff as major drawbacks to the effective and efficient operations of the only museum that holds the traditional and cultural artifacts of the five northern regions of Ghana lamenting that the museum which was supposed to have a total staff strength of 20 with two curators or preservers of the traditional artifacts, two archaeologists, three educators among others could only boast of 10 which was woefully inadequate for the smooth running of her outfit.

In an exclusive interview with GBC URA News at her office in Bolgatanga during the visit of about 100 students of Kongo Upper Primary and Junior High School, Madam Prisca Yenzie who doubles as the Queen Mother of Nakpalig near Nangodi conducted the students round the three main units of the ancestral museum and educated them on the importance of preserving the ancestral artifacts for generations yet unborn adding it was upon it modernization was being built.

Given a brief history about the Upper East Regional museum she said it was started in the late 1970s at a single office in the Regional Coordinating Council by an archaeologist known as Professor Benjamen Kankpen-Yen currently with the Archaeology Department of the University of Ghana, Legon. She also said that the museum was later in 1991 relocated to its current place near the regional office of the Centre for National Culture, CNC.

According to the brilliant Queen Mother, the insufficient museum space as well as lack of transport resulted in lack of expansion due to the consistent resistance of land owners thereby making it extremely difficult over the years gathering and bringing on board more of our typical traditional and cultural artifacts which represent our common ancestry as people of northen descent.

She therefore made a passionate appeal to government through the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to wall the land belonging to the museum so as to avert any future attempt geared towards frustrating efforts by relevant authorities in their quest to carry out any expansion works.

She intimated that the only source of the internally generated revenue has been the affordable entrance fee which ranges between 2 Ghana Cedis to 10 Ghana Cedis for locals and foreigners respectively adding that the number of recorded visitors in a month ranges between 15 to 20.

Mr. Akunzebe Theophilus in charge of Research and Statistics of the Regional Catholic Education Unit was impressed about the visit describing it as a fulfilled event. He disclosed that his unit has been sponsoring such student events since 2017 aimed at retainining more especially the girl child in the 365 catholic schools spread all over the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocese as form of recreation. He also said that it costs the unit over thousands of Ghana cedis to be able to transport, print t-shirts and also feed the students during such events due to the involvement of large numbers.

He adviced parents to be more responsible in investing more resources in the proper upbringing of the girl child.

The two students our team interacted with after their visit, Master Zurbila Franklin and Miss Belinder Abaah on their impressions both described the visit as very educative.

Source – gbcuraonline.com