Panafest/ Emancipation Day Celebration

Elizabeth Ofosu Agyare

According to a statement issued by the National Planning Committee the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with its agencies and other stakeholders has put together a comprehensive package to commemorate the event.

The statement said some of the activities planned include a visit to enslavements sites in Salaga in the Northern part of Ghana and the symbolic boat ride from Cape Coast Castle through the 'Door of No Return' to the Elmina Castle.

It said there will be a grand durbar of royal pageantry with international representatives celebrating OAU/AU@50 and Panafest @ 21 Edition on   July 27, at the Cape Coast Victoria Park.

The official Emancipation Day celebration which coincides with the 150 th anniversary of Emancipation Proclamation in the United States of America will be climaxed with a grand durbar of the chiefs and people of Assin Manso in the Assin South District of the Central Region.

In a statement, the Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Creative Arts, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, stated that the celebration of Panafest/Emancipation in Ghana has set the tone for Africans both on the continent and beyond to work harder to dismantle all forms of colonialism and neo-colonialism which has stifled Africa's progress.

She was of the view that Africans needed to put their act together to enjoy the natural endowments of their continent.  She added that 'as a people, we need to look beyond the annual celebration of Panafest by putting in place concrete actions to emancipate Africa from the yoke of conflicts, poverty, diseases, famine and underdevelopment which has affected the development of our people up to this day'.