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Prez Kufuor Joins Manning In Street Procession

By Daily Graphic
Mon, 04 Aug 2008 | Print | E-Mail | PDF | Graphics Version
General News



President J.A. Kufuor last Friday joined his host, Prime Minister Patrick Manning, to lead an impressive street procession in the Port of Spain to mark this year's annual Emancipation Day in Trinidad and Tobago.

Addressing a large crowd at the Treasury Building at Kambule, where the emancipation declaration was announced by the British colonial government 170 years ago, before the procession began, President Kufuor, who was the special guest of honour for this year's event, underscored the importance of education to break the barriers of mental and psychological enslavement of the black race and the underprivileged.

There was an air of excitement as Trinidadians and Tobagonians, dressed in colourful costumes to portray their cultural diversity, marched through the principal streets and historical spots in the Port of Spain amid drumming and dancing and putting up of cultural displays.

Commenting on the theme on the event, which was; “Crossing new frontiers to conquer today's challenges", President Kufuor said although physical emancipation had been achieved, there was still the challenge of mental and psychological bondage to overcome.

“Have we overcome the mental bondage?” He asked. “We still suffer degradation and mental slavery,” he told the Trinidadians and Tobagonians.

President Kufuor said the main frontier to cross was not physical but mental and the solution lay in education of the people.

Emancipation Day is widely celebrated in the Caribbean during the first week of August to mark the abolition of slavery in the British Empire on August 1, 1834 and the granting of full freedom to slaves from working on plantations of their colonial masters.

Trinidad and Tobago was the first country in the world to declare a national holiday to commemorate the abolition of slavery, and this year, it is marking the event with a cultural explosion and public lectures.

Recalling the efforts that his government was making towards human resource development in Ghana, President noted with satisfaction the fact that there was a similar effort in Trinidad and Tobago to provide access to education to the people.

He said it was only when access to education had been extended to the underprivileged and the black communities that “we can talk about equality of opportunities”.

“When we have liberated the mind, the black race can overcome and win,” he added.

Later , President Kufuor held bilateral talks with the President of Trinidad and Tobago, Professor George Maxwell Richards.

After photo opportunities and a ceremony where gifts were presented, the two leaders retired into a closed-door session.

In a briefing later, Mr Andrew Awuni, Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman, said the two leaders discussed areas of co-operation between Ghana and Trinidad and Tobago.

The leaders identified agriculture, energy and education as areas where the two countries could focus on in their bilateral relations and co-operation.

Story by Nehemia Owusu Achiaw

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