400 year old tree becomes a tourist attraction in E/R

Tamale, Nov. 26, GNA - A 400 year old tree, believed to be the oldest in the country, has become a tourist attraction in the Birim Municipality of the Eastern Region.

Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, the Eastern Regional Minister, who disclosed this in Tamale said, the region also has several unique tourist attractions like the Atiwa Forest, the Butterfly Santuary, Boti falls, the Asenema falls and the Aburi botanical gardens, amongst others. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo made these known when he addressed the 2010 National Festival of Art and Culture (NAFAC) in Tamale, to observe the Eastern and Upper West Region Day.

The NAFAC celebration, which began on 2oth November, has so far witnessed colourful cultural activities, including singing and dancing and cultural displays from the ten regions.

The weeklong bi-annual festival, which brings together all the cultural groups from across the ten regions of the country, is being celebrated under the theme; "NAFAC-Promoting unity, technology and wealth creation for a better Ghana: the role of the youth in nation building". Mr Ofosu-Ampofo however expressed worry about the low resources available to the centre for National Culture and appealed to government to assist the centre.

He was not happy that a Regional Theatre Complex, which started in 1965, in the Eastern Region, had been abandoned. This he said were some of the contributing factors that affect the battle to curtail foreign cultural influence.

The Upper West Regional Minister, Alhaji Issaku Saliah, expressed the hope that Ghana's culture would be awakened to promote domestic tourism, adding that, excursions by students must be encouraged. He said the Upper West Region was endowed with gold deposits and invited investors to come the area and help create jobs for the youth. In a related development, some transport companies including the State Transport Company (STC), Metro Mass Transit (MMT), the Ghana Private Roads Transport Unions (GPRTU) received awards from the Northern Regional Road Safety Commission for adhering to road safety regulations. 26 Nov. 10