A tourism consultant has held up the recent leadership handover at the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) as a blueprint for peaceful power transfers in African associations, arguing that many institutions on the continent are being weakened by sabotage, factionalism, and the destructive “pull him down” syndrome.
Emmanuel Frimpong, a Tourism Consultant, Trainer and Analyst and former Executive Secretary of the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), made the observation in a published commentary reflecting on the smooth transition from outgoing President Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jr. to incoming President Mr. Victor Opoku Minta, which took place on 23 April 2026 in Accra.
Frimpong described the handover as a demonstration of institutional maturity, writing that “leadership is stewardship” and arguing that once elections are concluded, associations must shift from competition to collaboration rather than allow electoral contests to harden into permanent divisions.
The swearing-in ceremony was chaired by the Vice Chancellor of Cape Coast Technical University and attended by a representative of His Royal Majesty King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, the Ga Mantse. Dr. Ackah-Nyamike, who served two consecutive four-year terms following his first election at the Association’s Biennial Congress in Kumasi in 2018 and re-election in Wa in 2022, was subsequently inducted into the Association’s Presidential Advisory Council. In his farewell address, he urged his successor to continue pushing for transparent disbursement of the one per cent Tourism Development Fund and mandatory membership for all hotels under the GHA.
The new President outlined five transformational pillars for his administration, with a practical and results-oriented approach aimed at repositioning the Association to engage more effectively and demand measurable outcomes. He announced plans to establish a national GHA Credit Union to financially empower member hotels and staff, particularly smaller operators who struggle to secure credit from traditional financial institutions. Additional plans include a local hotel booking platform and a leadership summit to deepen industry dialogue.
Frimpong used his commentary to draw a wider lesson for associations across Ghana and Africa. He argued that leadership transitions too often produce enemies rather than strengthen institutions, citing behaviours such as deliberate misinformation, internal project sabotage, character assassination, and refusal to cooperate with elected executives — patterns he said have damaged many promising bodies in the tourism and hospitality sector.
He called on associations continent-wide to adopt the values demonstrated at the GHA handover: institutional loyalty over personal loyalty, mentorship over intimidation, and collaboration over bitterness.
The Ghana Hotels Association was named Best Tourism Trade Association at the 2025 Ghana National Tourism Awards, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential private sector bodies within Ghana’s tourism ecosystem.
