Chief refutes NGO's development of Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary

The Chief of Duasidan, in the Dormaa Central Municipality, Nana Dinisa has refuted a report that a non-governmental organisation (NGO) is involved in developing the Duasidan Monkey Sanctuary.

He alleged it was cited in the Dormaa Central Municipal Assembly’s Budget 2020 document, but that was factually incorrect.

The Chief explained Ghana Dedicated Grant Mechanism (GDGM), a NGO promised to fence the Sanctuary some years ago but that promise has not yet been honoured, stressing "besides GDGM, no other NGO had ever shown up with an intention to develop the facility in question".

Nana Dinisa was speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in reaction to that claim made during a presentation by Mr. Peter Nketsiah, the Dormaa Central Municipal Budget Officer at the Assembly’s 2020 budget hearing at Dormaa-Ahenkro in the Bono Region.

The document failed to identify or source the name of the NGO but portions of page 10 reads: "Currently, an NGO in collaboration with the Municipal Assembly is developing the facility to attract more tourists".

The Chief further disclosed that Osagyefo Oseadeeyo Agyemang Badu II, the Paramount Chief of Dormaa Traditional Area recently allowed some people to explore possibilities of developing the Sanctuary and the locality in general.

"Apart from that, the Forestry Commission (FC) also commenced an exercise to plant trees at the Sacred Groove some time ago”, he added.

Nana Dinisa indicated that despite the facility's enormous tourism potential, successive governments have continued to pay lip service and failed to build the requisite infrastructure to bring the needed change and development to the area.

When contacted by the GNA for his comment, Mr. Nketsiah dismissed allegations of any partnership between the Municipal Assembly and an NGO towards the facility's upgrading.

He, however, gave the assurance that checks and investigations would be done on the matter.