Sunyani (B/A) Oct. 28, GNA - Brong-Ahafo Centre for National Culture (CNC) is to partner the National Youth and Employment Programme to create 200 jobs in weaving, tailoring and hairdressing for the unemployed youth next year.

Mr. Waksman Azaanab, Regional Director of the CNC, who disclosed this said the partnership was in addition to educational programmes the centre intended to undertake to promote good cultural practices in the region to accelerate its development processes. The Regional Director disclosed this at a colourful ceremony to mark this year's celebration of the Regional Festival of Arts and Culture (REFAC) in Sunyani on Thursday. Mr. Azaanab noted that Ghana had lost its cultural foundation and that there was the need for all and sundry to come together to revive it for present and future generation.

"On water, we have taboos for the preservation of our water bodies but modernism and the eschatological leanings of our churches are turning these practices overboard", he observed. "A practical example of our culture in development is sanitation", Mr. Azaanab stated, and expressed concern about indiscriminate dumping of refuse "while our technical officials always propound new theories far away from our cultural domain".

He explained that it was in appreciation of the region's contribution to the development of the national culture that the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture had approved the celebration of the 2012 national festival of Arts and Culture in Brong-Ahafo. In a speech read for him, Mr. Kwadwo Nyamekye-Marfo, Regional Minister appealed to chiefs to rekindle the spirit of oneness and togetherness and place the region at the centre of all their actions and thoughts.

He said there was the need for chiefs to eschew tendencies that would seek to derail the efforts of the government in "building upon the past to achieve the Better Ghana Agenda". Mr. Nyamekye-Marfo noted that Brong-Ahafo was gradually becoming a tourism hub and could now boost of the Boabeng-Fiema monkey sanctuary, Kintampo and Fuller water falls, Tano sacred grove, Buoyem caves and bats colony as well as Bono-Manso slave market and Hani archaeological site among others.

"What is now important to us as a region is how to blend these potentials with our local expertise and technology to add value to them to make them more attractive for patronage in order to boost the local economy", he stated. Okogyeade Yaw Adusei III, Omanhene of Sankore, who presided, advised traditional rulers to use culture to change the attitude of the youth especially in the area of dressing. 28 Oct.10