Government plans to build theatres in all regional capitals - Minister

Alhaji Sulemana Alhassan, Upper West Regional Minister, says government plans to build theatres in all regional capitals to create an enabling environment for arts and culture industry to strive.

He appealed to the various stakeholders, especially those in the creative arts to package their works to suit modern trends and take advantage of the internet to promote their works.

Alhaji Sulemana made this known at the Upper West Regional Cultural Festival celebration in Wa, which was on the theme “Empowering the youth through culture, tourism and creative arts for employment creation”.

He called for the development and harnessing of the numerous tourist attraction sites as a source of wealth for the youth.

He said the development of such sites would not only provide jobs for the people, but would also serve as a sense of pride in the preservation of the cultural heritage.

He expressed regret that dance and music was gradually fading away in the Region and urged the people to rather take advantage of the television and the internet to promote their cultural heritage.

The Regional Minister said the people in the Region have distinct but closely linked cultures and was happy that they have been able to tap into those cultural differences and diversities to promote peace and unity among themselves over the years.

He commended the stakeholders in the industry including traditional rulers for recognizing that there was unity in diversity and persuaded them to continue to sustain the peace and harmony prevailing in the Region.

Mr Mark M.N. Dagbee, the Regional Director of Centre for National Culture, said the CNC was faced with inadequate staffing and office accommodation challenges, which needed urged attention to address.

“The CNC has no office building on its own, while it has no resident officers in some of the districts in the Region to make it operate effectively and efficiently,” he said.