Reverse the subordination of Ghana’s culture – Armah Ashietey
Nii Armah Ashietey, Greater Accra Regional Minister, has expressed worry over the continuous subordination of Ghana’s culture in favour of foreign ones.
He has therefore called for the reversal of the situation to promote the country’s arts, craft, music and dancing industries.
“It is rather sad to observe that while others have improved upon their cultures. we have virtually subordinated ours to foreign cultures.”
Mr Ashietey was addressing the Regional Day’s of the 2010 National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) in Tamale on Wednesday, which saw the Greater Accra and the Western Regional cultural groups performing to showcase their culture and traditions.
The weeklong festival, which brought together all cultural groups across the country, is being celebrated this year under the theme: “NAFAC-Promoting unity, technology and wealth creation for a better Ghana: the role of the youth in nation building”.
The festival, which is a biannual event, had since attracted chiefs and traditional leaders from the various ethnic groups as well as cultural groups across the country to showcase their rich cultural heritage to the delight of the teaming audience.
Mr Ashietey urged the youth and traditional authorities to give greater attention to Ghana’s cultural heritage to attract investors and generate employment for the teaming youths.
“I urge our traditional institutions and other allied institutions to inject some form of dynamism into our culture and arts to reflect modern trends”, the Minister said adding that our craftsmen and women must pay attention to the finishing and packaging of their products to enable them to compete on the international markets.
He also expressed the concern that the tourism industry had done little to promote our local dishes in our hotels and restaurants, adding that introduction of technology to improve the processing of our local food must be considered.
Madam Betty Busumtwi-Sam, the Deputy Western Regional Minister said the region is the third largest in the country and comprises five major ethnic groups who are all of the same linguistic stock.
She said the region owed the key to Ghana’s development in view of its substantial natural endowments producing not less than 55 percent of the GDP for the country.
Madam Busumtwi-Sam said the region had recently discovered a new tourist site at Beyin in the Jomoro District where one could find the rehabilitated Fort Apollonia and the Nzulezu eco-site where all daily human activities take place on a lagoon.
The NAFAC 2010 was official opened in Tamale on Saturday 20th of this Month and had since witnessed several performances including the Northern, Brong Ahafo, Central and Upper East Regions, football and traditional games, highlight music competition, Diaspora exhibition a colloquium and exhibition by some department and agencies of the government.
Source: GNA