Koforidua-Ghana, Aug 03, GNA – Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, has charged the National Commission on Culture (NCC) to submit a good and profitable proposal for funding within three months.
“Give me a bankable proposal by the close of this session and give me three months; I will deliver it,” he said, adding “We have land, and the most important asset in this world is land. Let’s run this thing as a business without diluting our culture.”
Dr. Awal was speaking at the 2023 NCC Mid-Year Performance Review Meeting held in Koforidua on the theme: “Towards effective operations of the Centres for National Culture: The role of partnerships and collaborations.”
In attendance were the 16 Regional Directors and Accountants for the CNC, representatives from the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ghana Commission for UNESCO, Ghana Culture Forum, and Eastern Regional Coordinating Council (ERCC), among others.
Dr. Awal observed that the NCC had for a very long time did not hold any programmes that generated income for the development of the country, even though culture is the centre for promoting tourism.
He noted that investments were made to yield good returns; therefore, the NCC must make itself, “relevant towards Ghana’s development, otherwise you’ll become extinct. We are competing for resources because they are not just there. They are limited.”
In a speech delivered on behalf of the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr. Seth Acheampong said culture was an important sector that contributed greatly to the socio-economic development of the country.
Consequently, he said the CNCs must be fully equipped with the required resources to perform their mandates more effectively and efficiently, as they are responsible for sustaining the cultures and traditions of the country.
In as much as some cultural practices were no longer relevant in this modern era, Mr. Acheampong cautioned stakeholders, “to be careful not to overlearn the Western culture to the detriment of our traditional values.”
In so doing, Nana Otuo Owoahene Acheampong, the Executive Director of the NCC, announced the intention of his outfit to embark on a serious working tour to ascertain the real issues faced by the various CNCs and find ways of addressing them.
He assured participants that the NCC would work together with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture to follow up on the amendment to NCC Act 238 of 1990, which would help improve the operations of the commission.
Again, Nana Acheampong noted that the commission would soon develop a five-year comprehensive medium-term plan to guide the activities of the commission towards conducting an in-depth assessment of performance as the years go by.
