Bolgatanga: Dr Joseph Banguu, the Executive Director of the Navrongo-Bolgatanga Diocesan Development Organisation (NABOCADO), has heralded the St. Theresa Minor Basilica in Nandom as a prominent religious tourism site. The Basilica, an 89-year-old structure built by the Catholic Missionaries of Africa, stands as one of Ghana’s oldest iconic infrastructures, consecrated in 1939.

According to Ghana News Agency, Dr Banguu, speaking at the 10th National Annual Congress of the Nandom Polle Tietaa Club’s Bolgatanga Chapter, emphasized the Basilica’s potential to attract tourists. He urged locals to leverage the edifice in promoting tourism and highlighted the need for the community to focus on the Basilica as a 21st-century tourism symbol.

The Congress, themed ‘Using the 21st Century skills to reposition the Dagara culture for the future and the current generation,’ gathered young members from Nandom residing in Bolgatanga to discuss pertinent issues and the town’s development. Dr Banguu urged the educated and religious populace of Nandom to project undiscovered tourist sites such as the Crocodile pond and slave site in the area.

Mr Stanislaus Dong, Chairman of the Club’s Bolgatanga Chapter, praised members for their ongoing contributions that have sustained the Nandom Youth and Development Association (NYDA). He reflected on the Club’s past Congress themes, which fostered unity and development, while encouraging members to adapt their cultural focus to the digital age.

Mr Eugene Yirbuor, a Pioneer Member, recounted the formation of the Club in 2004 in Tamale, with the Bolgatanga Chapter established in 2011. Initially focused on member welfare, the Club shifted towards hometown development as membership spread across southern Ghana, undertaking various local projects.