The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has referred concerns over reported tensions between the leadership of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) to the Presidency for consideration.

She said she had received a petition from GTA Deputy Chief Executive Officer Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey, widely known as Abeiku Santana, concerning the communication difficulties and challenges in securing meetings with the authority’s Chief Executive Officer, Maame Efua Houadjeto.

Speaking on Starr FM on November 4, 2026, the minister confirmed that she had received the letter and held discussions with both parties.

“Oh, it's been done, and I think that we should give it time. And let's give government time to deal with this,” she said.

Dzifa Gomashie stressed the importance of the Ghana Tourism Authority to the tourism sector, describing it as a central institution whose work affects tourism, culture and the creative arts.

“What I can assure you of is that GTA is like the magnet of the tourism part of the ministry or the sector. And so its work is important to the whole lot: tourism, culture, and creative arts,” she stated.

She, however, indicated that the situation should not be characterised as an established leadership conflict, although the petition had raised concerns about tensions within the authority.

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“And so we cannot have the tension that you allege, not you, but the letter suggests,” she added.

The minister disclosed that she had reported the matter to Flagstaff House and expressed hope that decisions would be taken in the coming days to address the concerns.

“As I said, I've reported this to Flagstaff House, and I hope that in the coming days there will be some decisions taken that will inure to the benefit of the workforce and all the people in it. So I'd like to leave it there,” she said.

Background to the GTA petition

The development follows a petition submitted by Abeiku Santana to the Tourism Minister on October 22, 2026.

In the petition, he raised concerns about communication barriers and difficulties in arranging meetings with the GTA Chief Executive through her secretary, particularly when urgent matters required attention.

In a response dated October 24, 2026, Houadjeto expressed surprise at the allegations and proposed five measures to improve internal coordination.

The proposed measures included scheduled consultations, escalation procedures for urgent matters and regular management meetings to improve communication.

See the video below:

The issue between the GTA CEO and her deputy has been reported to Jubilee House, both parties have been engaged.- Tourism Minister #morningstarr https://t.co/VVrQzjbUvB

— Starr 103.5 FM (@starr1035fm) November 4, 2026