Arthur on Sunday stated that the country's 50th independence
anniversary celebrations would be incomplete without the Central
Region playing
a key role in it.
He stressed that as the former capital of the then Gold Coast,
the region played important roles in the political history of the
country and therefore it would be significant to be accorded that
recognition.Nana Arthur made the remarks when the leader of the
British House of Lords, Baroness Valerie Amos paid a courtesy call on
him at his residency as part of a day's visit to the region.
He said the infamous signing of the bond of 1844 was made in the
region, while the Aborigines Protections Rights and the first two
political parties in the country also originated from the region.
On the potentials of the region, Nana Arthur described it as the
"tourism hub" of Ghana and said a number of attractions, including
castles and forts, beautiful serene beaches, the Kakum National Park
and other eco-tourism sites could be found in the area.He said the
region is also the cradle of education that could boast of about ten
of the country's most prestigious schools where most of the nation's
top civil servants and other officials were trained.
The Minister however, expressed concern that the region was not
doing well in terms of industry as most of them, including the Komenda
Sugar factory, the Pomadze Poultry Far, the Saltpond Ceramics, among
others have collapsed.
He told the Baroness that the region was looking forward to seek
investment to revamp all the industries to help generate employment
and create wealth to help boost its socio-economic status.Baroness
Amos said the celebration of the nation's 50th independence was an
important occasion not only in the country's history but the entire
African continent and hoped the issue of the economic growth of the
continent would be spearheaded by Ghana.She said Britain would
celebrate the 200th year of the abolition of the slave trade this
year; adding that much work needed to be done to have that trade
totally abolished.Baroness Amos later visited the dungeons of the
Elmina and Cape Coast castles.
04 March 07
