CAPE COAST READY FOR OBAMA'S VISIT (PAGES 34 & 39, JULY 9)

IN spite of numerous reports in the media about the deplorable state of some ancient buildings in the Cape Coast Metropolis which include the Omanhene’s Palace, the Cape Coast Castle, Court buildings, the Ministries’ Block, the Ghana Commercial Bank building, among others, nobody made any attempt to have them renovated until recently, when it was announced that the President of the United State of America (USA), Barrack Obama was to visit the historic town.
As one of the most historical cities in Ghana, Cape Coast was the centre of British Administration and capital of the Gold Coast from 1700 until 1877, when the capital was moved to Accra. Most of the oldest and best schools in Ghana are also in Cape Coast. The Cape Coast castle is one of the biggest of the trade and slave castles on the coastline of Ghana and has one of the country's best-organised museums.
Of late, most of these historical monuments which defined the city had been in ruins but the announcement that the visit of President Obama and his wife would include a trip to Cape Coast where the US President will address a durbar of chiefs, has stimulated the spirit to rebrand the town and its landmarks.
This has totally changed the face of Cape Coast as our Central Regional correspondents Joe Okyere and Shirley Asiedu-Addo report.


THE town of Cape Coast has seen a significant facelift as the town anxiously awaits the historic visit of President Barrack Obama of the USA.
The drains are being cleared, pavements are being fixed and hedges are being trimmed. Thanks to the scheduled visit of President Obama.
The Victoria Park has been painted and the pavement along the park is regularly being worked on as the countdown to the visit begins.
The palace which is undergoing significant transformation is still receiving finishing touches before it receives President Obama tomorrow.
The Cape Coast Castle has been repainted, though authorities of the Castle say it is part of the routine painting, it is obvious that it was done because of the visit since the painting of the Castle was usually not done during the rainy season.
One place that has seen extensive renovation is the palace of the chief, Osabarima Kwesi Atta as President Obama is billed to pay a courtesy call on the Omanhene. Osabarima Kwesi Atta II told the Daily Graphic that it had become necessary for the palace to be renovated since it would host the US President, Barrack Obama.
“We are ready to make him feel at home.” he said.
Osabarimba Atta II said the traditional area was happy to be part of the historic visit and to host the US President adding that there was the need for the chiefs and people of Oguaa to put their house in order to receive such an important personality who is part of us.
All major buildings around the castle including the Ghana Commercial Bank, the Ministries Building, the SSNIT block and the Court Complex have enjoyed a significant facelift.
The newness of the place has elicited a feeling of anxiety and expectation from the people.
The Oguaa traditional council has banned funerals in the metropolis at the moment because of the visit.
The Siwdu Park that is expected to receive the President, is also being put in a good shape. Chippings are being put on the frontage of the park to prevent the usually soggy state in case it rains.
Frantically, people along the streets are making extra efforts at cleaning the place for the visit of the US President.
The castle, which is one of the World Heritage sites, and which was a major transit point of African slaves to the Americas, is also being painted.
The over 200 workers of the Zoomlion Waste Management company in the metropolis are working extra three hours to clear the beaches, paint and clean the drains.
The Regional Co-ordinator of Zoomlion, Mr Rhoda Donkor says the workers are not being paid any extra monies because it is their contribution towards the preparation for President Obama’s visit.
Radio Central, the regional station of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) in Cape Coast has also introduced a segement on their morning show tagged Obama’s corner to help sensitise residents to the visit and to encourage them to keep the environment clean while they await Obama’s visit.
Some residents the Daily Graphic spoke to said they were grateful to the committees involved in planning Obama’s visit for including Cape Coast.
A few people could be seen having Obama and President Atta Mills stickers on their cars while a few others wore the cloth with the inscription of President Obama.
Mr Kofi Asare said, “I believe the country deserves the visit of President Obama, we are doing well as a nation. Coming to Cape Coast is also in the right direct as it is a very historic town.”
A groundnut seller said “all I know is that Obama is coming and if for nothing at all, everything suddenly looks new here and we are happy.”

Cape Coast Castle
The Cape Coast Castle, standing magnificently in the ancient city of Cape Coast was built around 1665 by the British.
The Castle which was once a major sea port for the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade between the 17th and 18th centuries, was listed by the UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1979 and is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country.
It was once constructed as a fort by the Swedes in 1653, changed hands about four times until it was handed over to Ghana in 1960 when the country became a Republic.
For example, in 1658, Henrich Karloff captured it for the Danish Company of Guinea. Again, in 1661, it was seized by the Fetu people of Cape Coast.
The Dutch occupied it between 1663 and 1664 but due to the Dutch war the subsequent year, the British took over the fort and developed it into the status of a castle in 1665.
Over a period of about 60 years, the British developed the fort then known as Fort Carolusborg into a castle.
With its stature and place in history, the Cape Coast Castle cannot be missed by any visitor to Cape Coast.
It is bordered on the west by the Victoria Park, East by a landing place for canoes where hundred of fishermen virtually live to make a living, North by the Wesley Methodist Church and office buildings, and South by the deep blue Gulf of Guinea.
It occupies approximately 73,600 square feet with many rooms including the Palaver hall, the Governor’s Residence, the Maclean’s Hall, the English Church, the Magazine and the Slave dungeon.
The occupants of the castle were many and of varied categories. These included administrators or governors, chaplains and clerks of the church treasurers, medical officers, warehouse keepers, accountants, auditors, regular soldiers and ad hoc recruits and captives which numbered about 1,300 in a “favourable” season.
There were also skilled artisans such as masons, carpenters, tailors and armourers.
There were two kinds of captives, those intended to be domestic slaves in the castle and the other group, the commercial slaves who were transported by sea.
The English administration of the castle was under the absolute command of the governor or administrator, who was a direct representative of the Queen of England. He had the jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters over all inhabitants of the castle as well as on other English settlements on the coast.

Gothic House
A visible and unique part of the cultural heritage of Cape Coast , is the Gothic House, commonly known as the Public Works Department building.
Lying just to the west of Cape Coast Castle and adjacent to the historic Victoria Park (now Jubilee Park), Gothic House is a reminder of the Gold Coast era.
Built during the third quarter of the 19th century by a British merchant, Gothic House (the name implies the style of decoration-Gothic Revival) became the property of Jacob Wilson Sey (Kwabonyi) in the 1890s. Sey, a prosperous palm wine tapper, and founder of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society (ARPS), transferred the property to the Gold Coast government before his death in 1905.
It was during this time that Queen Victoria, a sympathetic supporter of Sey and the ARPS, transferred title to all lands along the Gold Coast to the Crown. As a result, the Queen presented a bust of herself to a delegation representing the Gold Coast government.
This bust was placed in a park close to the Victoria Park and adjacent to Sey’s Gothic House. In 1925, the bust was uneveiled by prince Edward, the grandson of the late queen, and the park commissioned.
Both Gothic House and Victoria Park (Jubilee Park) express the history of the struggle and triumphs of the Aborigines Rights Protection Society which are in need of restoration.
Until it was donated by the National Democratic Congress (NDC) government to the Oguaa Traditional Council for use as a palace and its seat, the Gothic House remained the property of the government of Ghana. It was managed by the Central Regional Co-ordinating Council as lettable space for government and non-governmental agencies.
The first period of construction consisted of the main dwelling, a garden to the west, the anterior courtyard, various ancillary structures and the underground cistern to the southeast.
The main dwelling enclosed a modified hall and parlour supported by extensive vaulted storage areas on the ground floor. Exotic architectural details, loosely categorised as the Gothic Revival style, decorated the interior and exterior of the dwelling.
The second phase of architectural change might have occurred during the first quarter of the 20th century when the building served as a public/government office.
At this time, it was presumed that several changes occurred. First, timber additions, in the form of enclosed porches and rooms, changed the facades and rooflines of the dwelling.
Second, original ancillary structures were demolished and replaced with a low-pitched one storey wing to the west and enlarged as a two-storey wing to the east. Third, the garden was transformed into a paved courtyard.
Post-independence changes were assumed to be minimal and might have included the addition of partition walls, a sandcrete block extension connecting the main dwelling to the east and infrastructure improvements.
Considering the location and size of the building, and its historic links to the Gold Coast era, and notable Cape Coast citizens like Jacob Wilson Sey, make the property ideally suited and adaptive reuse by local authorities.
It is based on this that it was recommended that the main dwelling could be reused as the palace for the Omanhene of the Oguaa Traditional Area. The paramount stool and traditional shrines could be housed and customary rites performed.
Traditional court hearings and meetings of the council could also be held in the main dwelling. In addition, the paved courtyard to the southeast could serve as a small durbar or festival ground. Larger festivals such as the Oguaa Fetu Afahye are currently held in the nearby Victoria Park (Jubille Park).
Current scope of work is to transform the adjacent wings of the dwelling to house an exhibition on the history of the Gold Coast, Cape Coast and the building itself. The exhibition could be manufactured locally and could be maintained by entrance fees to both the palace and the museum. Community residents could be hired as site guides and interpreters.
Other unused rooms, and the entire eastern wing could become lettable space as guest rooms for hire, a small restaurant/bar and gift shop. Proceeds from the rent could be channelled into a fund which could be used for the maintenance of the property.
By expanding the the scope of the preservation/restoration efforts beyond Cape Coast Castle, the sustainability and the economic development of the historic and culturally significant town surrounding will be insured.
Model rehabilitation and adaptive reuse projects serve to promote increased pride and valuation of neighbourhoods, family houses, open spaces, forts and shrines and encourage enterprise activities and the development of a culture of maintenance in the public and private realm.