Take stock of all Nkrumah's belongings- Dr Hannah Bisiw

A DEPUTY Minister for Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Hannah Bisiw, has directed the Public Works Department (PWD) Prestige to take stock of all the personal belongings of Dr Kwame Nkrumah which were evacuated to the department during the rehabilitation of Peduase Lodge.
She gave the directive when she embarked on a feasibility tour to identify possible ways of ensuring provision of potable water supply to the lodge and the schools within Aburi and its environs.
Dr Bisiw said that after stocktaking, all the items would be sent to Dr Nkrumah’s Museum, at the Nkrumah Memorial Park, for safe keeping and for posterity.
Apparently, during the rehabilitation of Peduase Lodge three years ago by the previous administration, the items were evacuated to the PWD Prestige.
Asked if the Government intended to put to use the imposing edifice built by the country’s first President, Dr Bisiw replied in the affirmative.
“It is an asset and we have to use it, We spent money to rehabilitate it and so we have to put it to use,” she stated, and gave the assurance that the Government would ensure that the lodge was brought back to its original state.
She, therefore, asked the Head of Works and Housing, Mr Yaw Adu Adjei Siaw, who also had oversight responsibility over the lodge, to also furnish the ministry with the total cost of the rehabilitation.
Dr Bisiw further directed the PWD to desilt choked drainages at the lodge in order to prevent any havoc in case of a heavy downpour.
The odge, which was constructed in 1959 during the reign of Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, had since served as a presidential holiday resort.
It served as the residency for President Edward Akufo Addo and President Dr Hilla Limann. It has also served as a place for relaxation for all the country's leaders as well as an venue for important national events and meetings.
In 2006, rehabilitation work by the previous administration on the lodge began after some leakages were detected in the imposing four-storey building which housed a library, a swimming pool and a theatre complex, as well as guard and staff quarters.
A tour round the facility by the press during the visit by Dr Bisiw revealed that almost every part of the building that needed to be restored had been completed, but what the facility lacked was adequate water to fully bring it back to its original status.
The concrete structures and the interior decorations that were damaged had been restored. The terrazzo floors and the granite stones in the bath and the dressing rooms, which, according to reports, were cracked, have also been restored.

Caption: Front view of Peduase Lodge after the rehabilitation work.