The Mystery of Ghana’s Abandoned Buildings: Who Is Responsible and Why Are They Still Standing?

Across Ghana, there are buildings that once represented ambition, wealth, public service, education, industry and even national pride.

Today, some of them stand quietly behind overgrown weeds, broken windows, rusted gates and cracked walls.

Some were once offices. Others were schools, hotels, factories, government properties, residential buildings or important landmarks.

For many Ghanaians, the question is simple: How does a building that was once valuable end up abandoned for years?

But behind Ghana’s abandoned buildings is a much bigger story than what meets the eye.

It involves ownership, maintenance, funding, land disputes, changing government priorities, planning, safety regulations and, in some cases, the failure to decide what should happen to old properties.

And when the buildings have historical or tourism value, another institution enters the conversation—the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts.

But should every abandoned building be blamed on the Tourism Ministry?

The answer is no.

That is because responsibility for Ghana’s buildings is divided among different institutions depending on who owns the property, what the building is used for and whether it has historical or heritage significance.

It starts with ownership.

One of the biggest reasons abandoned buildings can remain untouched for years is that ownership is not always straightforward.

A privately owned building is primarily the responsibility of its owner.

Government property brings in government institutions.

Public buildings and government-owned properties fall within the broader responsibilities of the Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources, while the Public Works Department plays a role in the construction, maintenance and rehabilitation of government buildings and infrastructure.

This means that when Ghanaians see an old government building deteriorating, the first question should not automatically be, “Where is the Tourism Minister?”

The first question should be: Who owns this building and which institution has responsibility for it?

That question can sometimes be surprisingly difficult to answer.

The maintenance problem

Buildings do not become abandoned overnight.

A small leak becomes a damaged ceiling.

A broken window is left unrepaired.

Paint begins to peel.

Water enters the structure.

Electrical systems deteriorate.

The surrounding land becomes overgrown.

Eventually, a building that could have been repaired relatively cheaply becomes an expensive rehabilitation project.

The Ministry of Works, Housing and Water Resources officially identifies the maintenance and protection of public property and infrastructure among its responsibilities.

The Public Works Department also states that it handles the design, construction and maintenance of public buildings, including the renovation and rehabilitation of government properties.

Yet funding remains a major part of the problem.

A 2021 inspection of state bungalows by then Works and Housing Minister Francis Asenso-Boakye found some government residences in poor condition because of inadequate maintenance. He appealed for funding to support their upkeep.

The problem, therefore, is not simply that Ghana has abandoned buildings.

It is also that maintenance has often been treated as something to address after deterioration has already become serious.

Some buildings have a different story.y

Not every old building is simply an abandoned property.

Some are part of Ghana’s history.

They may be connected to colonial administration, independence, education, traditional communities, important personalities, religious history, architecture or major events.

This is where the tourism and heritage conversation becomes important.

Ghana’s heritage institutions are responsible for protecting significant historical properties, while the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts provides policy direction for the sector.

The Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, for example, is the custodian of Ghana’s tangible cultural heritage.

In December 2025, the Board temporarily closed Fort Apollonia, Fort St. Anthony, Fort Orange, James Fort and Ussher Fort because of maintenance, safety assessments and conservation work.

That decision showed the difficult balance between keeping heritage sites open for tourism and protecting them from further deterioration.

When an abandoned building becomes a tourism problem

This is where the issue becomes more complicated.

An old building may have no tourism value at all.

But another may have enormous potential.

Imagine a historic building in the middle of Accra that tells the story of a particular period in Ghana’s history.

Instead of remaining locked and deteriorating, it could potentially become a museum, cultural centre, creative hub, boutique hotel, research centre or heritage attraction.

The challenge is determining which buildings deserve preservation and how they can be economically sustained.

Preservation without funding can leave a building deteriorating.

Commercialisation without historical sensitivity can destroy the very character that makes the building valuable.

That is why the debate requires more than demolition or renovation.

So where does the Tourism Ministry come in?

The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts has increasingly placed heritage preservation on its agenda.

Tourism Minister Abla Dzifa Gomashie has repeatedly spoken about the need to protect Ghana’s built heritage.

In 2025, she urged architects to become more involved in protecting historic buildings and warned that Ghana risked losing important heritage through neglect and inadequate professional intervention.

In August 2026, she also supported efforts to preserve and restore Osu Castle through discussions involving Danish partners. She stressed that heritage preservation should not only be about maintaining physical structures but also about telling Ghana’s history properly.

The government has also launched a five-year Ghana-Korea Heritage Project aimed at strengthening the conservation and climate resilience of Ghana’s forts and castles.

The project focuses on historic sites threatened by coastal erosion and climate change, while also building technical capacity for heritage preservation.

These are important interventions.

But they also raise another question.

Is this enough?

That is where the public debate begins.

Ghana does not only have famous castles and forts.

There are old schools, houses, theatres, government properties, railway-related structures, industrial buildings, colonial-era architecture and other landmarks scattered across the country.

Some are known to the public.

Others are slowly disappearing without much attention.

The Ministry itself has acknowledged that the tourism and heritage sector faces challenges including inadequate funding and dilapidated infrastructure. In a June 2026 engagement with Parliament’s Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism, the Ministry highlighted delayed budgetary allocations, logistical constraints and dilapidated infrastructure among the challenges confronting the sector.

That makes the abandoned-building debate bigger than one minister.

It is a question of national priorities.

What happens when nobody acts?

The danger is that an abandoned building eventually reaches a point where restoration becomes much more expensive—or impossible.

In some cases, the structure becomes unsafe.

In March 2026, following the collapse of the Experimental School at Accra Newtown, the Deputy Minister for the Interior urged the public to report unsafe structures and called for stricter enforcement of building regulations.

An abandoned building is therefore not merely an eyesore.

It can become a public safety issue.

It can also become an environmental problem, a security concern and a missed economic opportunity.

Could abandoned buildings become tourist attractions?

Perhaps.

But not every abandoned building should become a tourist site.

The first step should be identifying buildings with genuine historical, architectural, cultural or social value.

Experts could then assess their structural condition, ownership, historical importance, restoration cost and possible future use.

Some could become museums.

Others could become cultural centres.

Some could be converted into creative spaces.

Others may simply need to be demolished if they are beyond safe restoration.

The important thing is to make a deliberate decision rather than allowing buildings to remain in limbo for decades.

Ghana’s heritage is bigger than castles.

Ghana’s tourism story has often been associated with beaches, waterfalls, wildlife, festivals, forts and castles.

But the country’s architecture is also part of its history.

An old building can tell a story that a newly constructed tourist facility cannot reproduce.

The design, materials, location and memories attached to it can provide visitors with a different understanding of Ghana.

That is why the question of abandoned buildings deserves attention from tourism authorities, local assemblies, architects, historians, property owners and communities.

The Ministry should not carry the blame alone—but it cannot stay out of the conversation.n

It would be unfair to blame the Tourism Ministry for every abandoned building in Ghana.

A privately owned property, a government bungalow and a protected heritage building do not fall under the same responsibility.

But where an abandoned building has significant cultural or historical value, the Tourism Ministry and heritage agencies cannot completely look away.

The responsibility should instead be shared.

The Works Ministry and Public Works Department have responsibilities around public buildings and infrastructure.

Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies have planning and local governance responsibilities.

Property owners have obligations concerning their buildings.

Heritage institutions have responsibilities for protected historical assets.

And the Tourism Ministry has a role in ensuring that buildings with genuine heritage and tourism potential are identified, protected and integrated into the country’s tourism strategy.

The real mystery

Perhaps the real mystery of Ghana’s abandoned buildings is not why they were abandoned.

It is why some remain abandoned even after everyone knows they are there.

Who owns them?

Who is supposed to maintain them?

How much would restoration cost?

Are they historically important?

Can they be reused?

Who should pay?

And if restoration is impossible, who has the authority to make the final decision?

Until those questions are answered, Ghana’s abandoned buildings will continue to stand as silent reminders of unfinished plans.

And for the Tourism Ministry, the challenge is not to take responsibility for every neglected structure in the country.

It is to make sure that the buildings that carry Ghana’s history are not allowed to disappear simply because nobody acted early enough.