PANAFEST: A GAIN OR A DRAIN?

A Ghana News Agency Feature By Hilda Abban

Cape Coast, April 22, GNA - Very soon, in exactly three months, the PANAFEST Foundation, would be spending an estimated 1.3 billion cedis to host the seventh Pan African Historical Theatre Festival (PANAFEST) at the festival's permanent venues of Cape Coast, Elmina and Assin Manso, from July 24 to August 1, under the theme: "Re-emergence of African Civilisation: Preserving and Uniting the African Family in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS."

The first PANAFEST, which took place in 1992, under the theme: "Re-emergence of African Civilization", was to all intents and purposes a resounding success, with eminent personalities, including renowned academicians, Pan-Africanists and Artistes, particularly, African-Americans from the Diaspora, attending.

Officials including some Ministers of State from some countries on the Continent, particularly the West Africa Sub-Region attended. The overall attendance that year and the success of the subsequent activities were quite overwhelming and impressive.

Many pledges were made by our African-American brothers and sisters, as well as other important personalities, who attended to support the festival, which idea, was mooted by Mrs Efua Sutherland of blessed memory, with the prime objective, of not only uniting all peoples of African descent with their brothers and sisters on the Continent but also to ensure that they used their expertise and skills to accelerate the development of the Continent, which was their motherland.

The idea and objectives of PANAFEST were found to be so laudable that a Nigerian official proposed that hosting of the festival should be rotated among African countries.

Ghana, has continued to host the festival, sometimes as an annual or biennial event, but one is tempted to wonder to what extent the hosting of the festival has been successful, since 1992, and whether its objectives have been realized, or are on the brink of being realized at all.

We need to bear in mind that PANAFEST, is not just about cultural displays, musical extravaganzas and trade expositions, or as mere occasions for some of our brothers and sisters from the Diaspora to trace their ancestry roots to the country, down to some of its towns and villages and amidst pomp and pageantry, be given African names, only to disappear and make no effort afterwards to establish any further linkages.

It had been expected that as the prime objective of the festival was to source the assistance of our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora to step up the development of the Continent, there would be follow-ups to the many colloquiums which had been held to provide platforms for the nurturing of fertile ideas and strategies towards the much-needed support for the Continent.

One would, therefore, not want to think, that the Festival had been nothing, but just a platform for 'empty' but brilliant speeches churned out at each festival, and that after nearly 13 years, the nation, let alone the Continent, could not speak of any remarkable benefit that had been achieved from the festival.

However, a chat with the Executive Director of the PANAFEST Foundation, Rabbi Kohain Halevi, allayed the concerns of this writer, when he said the festival, had enhanced the academic and socio-cultural linkages of Africans on the Continent and those in the Diaspora, and that although there were no statistics readily available, the onset of PANAFEST had precipitated the highest level of investment and repatriation, since the first regime.

He consented that participation of countries on the Continent itself, had not been encouraging, but was hopeful that the establishment of the African Union, would encourage many countries on the Continent to participate, stressing that the festival, "belongs to a global African Family".

Rabbi Halevi, an African-American, who himself has been domiciled in the country for some years now, said there had been a greater knowledge and partnership with Africa's sons and daughters in the Diaspora, who hitherto, preferred travelling to Europe or other continents. He said these had now made Africa their number one choice. He said for instance, although many Africans in the Diaspora came to live and invest in Ghana during the Nkrumah era, they found Ghana "a strange place to live after the regime was overthrown and from that time on, there had been a lapse in their sojourn in the country until PANAFEST, renewed their confidence and spirits.

According to him, some of the sons and daughters in the Diaspora, who had been able to trace their roots to the country and subsequently their home towns, had also consolidated their 'citizenship' by either supporting the education of some children, construction of school buildings or supporting their new found families.

Support & Funding

The Ghana Government initially provided funding for preparations towards the festival, with some form of support from the then OAU, and when it was perhaps realised that such immense financial support was a drain on the nation's coffers it was privatised and the then PANAFEST Secretariat which is now PANAFEST Foundation had to source for funds from the private sector.

In Rabbi Halevi's words, for this year's festival, an estimated 1.3 billion cedis would be needed to host the festival, and that the Foundation had been in contact with 30 major and minor companies, all local, for sponsorship.

He said although the then OAU provided some initial assistance, it could not be sustained since the organisation was going through a transition, and expressed the hope that now that the transition had been completed, the leadership of the African Union (AU) would sustain support for the festival.

The Executive Director said sons and daughters in the Diaspora were also being urged to be campaigners in fund-raising, while in the United States, measures were being taken to attract corporate funding for the Festival by the PANAFEST International Committee.

He gave the assurance that the Foundation, which incurred a debt of 250 million cedis in terms of utility bills, accommodation and other services, in connection with the festival, was now "better packaged and managed", and gave the assurance, that problems that had hitherto been associated with the hosting of the Festival, would not recur.

Participating Countries

The Executive Director said so far 20 countries worldwide had expressed their intentions to send down official delegations to the Festival, and mentioned some of them as Brazil; United States; United Kingdom; Italy; South Africa; Nigeria; Mali; Trinidad and Tobago and the Bahamas, adding, "we know that we will get many more", and said to also stem hitches that cropped up with international flights for some participants, particularly during the last festival, the Foundation and the International committee, would be providing "PANAFEST chartered flights". It was also in contact with some major international airlines, such as KLM, British Airways and Alitalia, as well as the Ethiopian Airlines to fly down international participants. PublicityAccording to Rabbi Kohain, publicity on the Festival had already taken off and the Festival had already been launched in the United States and Nigeria, and that on the local front, publicity was about to commence in full force, and that some FM stations and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation would soon begin local sensitisation about the Festival, while actual preparations towards the festival, would take off in mid-May.

With these assurances, it is fervently hoped that attendance at this year's PANAFEST would exceed that of PANAFEST '92 to give more meaning to the objectives of the festival - to propel all peoples of African descent, especially those living on the Continent, towards a better future, and the sub theme "Preserving and uniting the African family in the fight against HIV/AIDS", makes it imperative for African governments, in particular, to pay attention to this year's festival, for a concerted fight against a disease which is ravaging the Continent with a speed faster than lightning!