REMAIN COMMITTED ON PANAFEST (PAGE 14)

The President, Prof John Evans Atta Mills, has challenged the organisers of the PANAFEST to remain committed to the noble aim upon which the event was founded.
PANAFEST establishes the truth about the history of Africa and the experience of its people using the vehicle of arts and culture to provide a forum to promote unity between Africans on the continent and those in the Diaspora.
In a speech read on his behalf at the opening of PANAFEST and Emancipation Day in Cape Coast by the Minister of Transport, Mr Mike Hammah, President Atta Mills said lack of sustenance and support for the festival had led to a decline in patronage and standards set at its beginning.
Prof Atta Mills therefore charged the PANAFEST Foundation to work with the appropriate agencies to restore the event as the leading international Pan-African festival on the continent.
He called on African-Americans in the diaspora to help create a viable PANAFEST Foundation to use as a catalyst in building the necessary bridges to the future.
He commended the organisers and those who sacrificed for its sustenance over the years inspite of the difficulties.
President Atta Mills said the organisation of the two events under one umbrella would definitely maximise its effectiveness as the pilgrimage festival for all Africans to come home to celebrate “ our heritage as one people”.
He expressed Ghana’s commitment to strengthen her ties by revisiting issues of common interest and the attainment of tangible goals and set targets to ensure recognition by the African Union (AU) of the diaspora as the sixth region and a crucial pillar for the development of Africa.
He said also that Ghana would continue to recognise and support the African Diaspora Forum and also rebuild PANAFEST and Emancipation Day as strong institutions and important dates on the heritage tourism calendar of the country and elsewhere.
He called on the AU to renew its pledge of support for the festival and ensure its sustainability in pursuit of using culture as a means of unifying the African continent.
He reminded the gathering about the heritage left to Africa by their ancestors, and urged them to take inspiration from those who championed black emancipation and the liberation of the continent.
The Minister of Tourism, Mrs Juliana Azumah-Mensah, said the celebration should be targeted at removing some of the misconceptions and negative publicity on the African people.
Mrs Azumah-Mensah said the celebration of the two events should be a forward march for political and economic liberation for all, and called for the reinforcement and strengthening of the structures set up to effectively manage the event officially for future celebrations.
She stressed the need to put in the right strategies and programmes with world-wide appeal to attract and generate interest in more people than it is doing now.
The Central Regional Minister, Mrs Ama Begyina Doe, said the event should be used as a forum for the unity of people with common ancestry.
The Ogua Manhen, Osabarima Kwasi Atta II, who chaired the function, described the event as significant, coming immediately after the visit of US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, to the dungeons of Cape Coast.