Koforidua, Nov 13, GNA - Nana Kodua Kesse, Oyokohene in the New Juaben Traditional Area, on Saturday, encouraged the elimination of cultural practices that impede the advancement of society.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the third seminar for members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Culture, Youth and Sports on Cultural Initiatives Support Programme, (CISP) in Koforidua, he noted that culture is dynamic and must evolve with changing times.

Nana Kesse, therefore, tasked the committee to research into the country's various cultures and recommend for preserving the good ones but the abolition of those that hamper progress. He was happy to note that some "bad" cultural practices, such as Trokosi and widowhood rites, are gradually fading. Nana Kesse appealed to chiefs to continue to use their festivals to launch self-help projects to help raise the standard of living of their people.

Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, Programme Coordinator, CISP, suggested that the state should be constitutionally mandated to fund cultural activities. He said history "has taught us that there is a necessary and inevitable correspondence between culture and the development of democracy", adding that, the disciplines that marshal people's freedoms and correlate their responsibilities are rooted in culture. Mr Gyan-Apenteng said the expectation of the seminar was for the committee members to map out several options for the funding of culture with the hope that sometime in the near future all or some of those options may become part of official policy.

Mr Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo, Eastern Regional Minister, in a speech read on his behalf, said the region with its unique heterogeneity was noted for its cultural-tourist attractions and agricultural potentials. "Eco-tourist attractions are in the form of mountains, water falls, historical sites and agricultural research stations," he said. Mr Ofosu-Ampofo mentioned some attractive tourist sites in the region as the Akosombo and Kpong dam sites in the Asuogyaman District, the Atiwa Forest and Butterfly Sanctuary, in the East Akyem District, Rock formation at Amate in the Kwahu South District and the Big Tree, believed to be over 400 years old, at Asanteman in the Birim Central Municipality among others. 13 Nov. 10