Ho, July 20, GNA - Regional Directors and Accountants of the Centre for National Culture (CNC) at the weekend called for the reconstitution of the Board of the Centre "to ensure its proper and efficient functioning".

A communique signed by nine out of ten Regional Directors of the Commission after a strategic meeting in Ho, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, noted that the Centre is performing below expectation, and called for the reconstitution of its Board to resolve issues affecting proper administration at the Centre. It also noted that the low salary level of personnel at the Centre was seriously impeding the recruitment and retention of qualified staff of the Centre, and appealed to the appropriate authorities to remedy the situation.

The Communique appealed to the Ministry of Chieftaincy and Culture to give the needed finances and logistics to the Centre to enable it to deliver its mandate to the nation, as no meaningful development can take place without a strong cultural foundation. It observed that Regional Centres for National Culture had not undergone any meaningful transformation and development for a long time and that theatre buildings started in various Centres received little improvement over the years with many still uncompleted for more than 20 years.

The Communique noted that those theatre complexes when completed would offer huge employment to young people in the culture industry which has the potential of broadening the internal generated revenue of the Centres and urged government to help complete the theatres. It also stated that the National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC) continued to play a major role in national unity, cohesion and development, and called on the Minister of Chieftaincy and Culture to, as a matter of urgency, institute measures to effectively celebrate this year's National Festival of Arts and Culture (NAFAC 2009) at Tamale. 20 July 09