Prime News Ghana

Elmina Castle faces closure over non-payment of royalties

By Jeffrey Owusu-Mensah
The Elmina Castle
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The Elmina Castle will be closed down by Friday, January  27, if the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board fails to pay royalties to the Edina Traditional Council, Paramount Chief of the Edina traditional area, Nana Kojo Kondua VI, has threatened.

According to Nana Kondua, though the historical edifice is situated on the lands of the Edina, the board has since 2009 failed to pay them 20% of the proceeds as directed by the law.

Also, he stated, the board had failed to support the traditional council in developing the town, despite the huge revenue it garners from the castle.

It will be recalled that Nana Kondua early last year, threatened to invoke curses on the tourists who will visit Elmina castle if the royalties due them were not paid by the end of February 2016 leading the then central regional minister, Aquinas Quansah to intervene and assure of the payment of an immediate compensation.

But almost one your after the minister's assurance, the royalties are yet to be paid.

In an interview with a locally based radio station, the paramount chief maintained that nothing will stop them from closing down the castle as authorities if their conditions are not met.