Bono-Manso remembers the slave trade

Bono-Manso (B/A), July 22, GNA - Mr Kobby Acheampong, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, has said inadequate budget allocation to the ministry was preventing the ministry from providing facilities at tourist sites.

He appealed to the government to increase the budget so that tourist attraction centers could be developed to promote eco-tourism and enhance the living conditions of the people at the sites as well. Mr. Acheampong said this when he addressed the chiefs and people of Bono-Manso in Nkoranza District to mark PANAFEST and Emancipation Day at the Martin Luther King Junior Village. He commended the Executive Director of the Center for African Art and Civilization, Miss Felicia Oboubi, for establishing the Martin Luther King Junior Village at Bono-Manso in commemoration of the freedom fighters against slavery.

In an address read for him Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Minister, said the emancipation day celebration was very important "as the day brought memories of sufferings of our ancestors who were forced out from their homes and to develop the western world".

He said such days should be a significant event for all Ghanaians to offer selfless and dedicated services towards its celebration. Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo commended the people of Bono-Manso for initiating the tourist center and assured the people that his outfit would do its best to improve upon existing facilities at the site. Mr. Kwadwo Adjei-Dwomoh, Nkoranza North District Chief Executive, said it was painful to remember that more than 300 million men and women were taken into slavery.

He attributed the under-development problems facing Africa and for that matter Ghana to the slavery they went through. "If civilization indeed started from Egypt in Africa, the Africans would have performed wonders if our past youth had not gone out to foreign countries and to develop such places", he said. Miss Oboubi deplored the poor communal labour spirit of the youth at Bono-Manso who are not paying attention to the maintenance of the tourist sites in the area. 2