Ghana has no national heritage – Dr Aryee

Former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Dr. Joyce Aryee has said Ghana’s adoption of too much foreign cultures and values has left the country with no national heritage.

She bemoaned the situation where even in the construction sector, foreign materials are used to build infrastructure saying; “we live in houses that cannot function without electricity or air condition.”

Speaking at the 59th anniversary of the Ghana Writers Association on Sunday, themed; “Preserving our Heritage through Writing,” Dr. Aryee stressed that as an advanced and civilized country, writing should feature prominently in Ghana’s development agenda.

Dr. Joyce Aryee, who once served as the Minister of Education in the erstwhile Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), advised students to be proud of their local language and speak it as well since that will enable them speak foreign languages better.

Commenting on the importance of heritage preservation, Dr. Aryee emphasized the need for a heritage preservation plan to keep its achievements for the benefit of generations unborn.

She called for the publishing of more books and electronic libraries to encourage reading, noting that physical books gave people the urge to write and do better appreciation of the content.