Accra, March 27, GNA - Mr Mike Afedzi Gizo, Minister of Tourism, on Monday told Parliament that inadequate resourcing was making the implementation of his ministry's programmes difficult.

He said though this year's allocation of 5.7 billion cedis was an improvement over last year's 5.06 billion cedis, much of the difference goes into the payment of personal emoluments.

Mr Gizo, who was moving for the approval of his Ministry's 2000 budget, said enough resources should be made available to the Ministry to enable it to achieve maximum output.

He said the Ministry would continue with the implementation of its Tourism Awareness Programme that aims at educating the general public, decision-makers and stakeholders in tourism on the concepts and benefits of the sector.

He announced that cabinet was considering a memorandum for the creation of a Tourism Development Fund. The Minister said the fund would aim at raising long-term capital on sustainable basis for the development of tourism.

Mr Gizo said the Ghana Tourist Board and other entities like the Hotel, Catering and Tourism Training Institute lack basic infrastructure and are woefully under-resourced to make any meaningful impact on the industry.

Ms Theresa Tagoe, Minority spokesman on Tourism, criticised government for paying lip service to the Tourism industry. She said with the increasing instability of the prices of the country's main exports, tourism remains the only viable sector to lead the economic growth of the nation.

The ranking member called for the elevation of the Ministry to Cabinet status to give much recognition to its contribution to national development. A report prepared by the Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism said the allocation made to the sector was woefully inadequate and seriously threatened the realisation of the Ministry's set goals as envisaged in the Vision 2020.