Give Us Some Time to Build 3 Theatres – Creative Arts Minister
The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Ablema Afeku has pleaded on stakeholders of the creative arts sector to give the government some time to start the construction of 3 theatres in the country.
The New Patriotic Party in its 2016 Manifesto on Creative Arts, promised that the government would “pursue the construction of modern large seating theatres in every regional capital except Accra, beginning with Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi…”
After barely a year of being in office, not activity on the building of these theatres has started. Meanwhile, the minister has assured stakeholders of the creative arts sector that plans are underway to enhance some two cultural centres into theatres and build a new one where necessary.
“Give us this year. At the end of every year the ministries are mandated to come and give update on what we do and account for stewardship. We should be able to report on some form of progress on the three projects,” she said.
Responding to a question at the meet-the-press with her ministry on Monday, 29th January, 2017 at the Ministry of Information about what specific measures government has put in place to fulfil its promise of building 9 theatres in 9 regions of Ghana, Catherine stated that work on the theatres will soon start.
“The management team has agreed that the one of the first things to do is to rehabilitate the three regional theatres [cultural centres] because that will give a space for arts and culture to be displayed and also to generate revenue,” the ministry noted.
“The one in the Ashanti Region – Ghana Tourism Authority has already been there a couple of times and there was a construction during the Jubilee Year 2007 and we think the drawings and paintings do not befit the Ashanti Region so we are seriously in touch with the original architects to see how we can redo and build a proper befitting theatre for the Ashanti Region,” she added.
According to the art minister, authorities are yet to decide on whether to pull down the cultural centre in Takoradi and build a new one or to renovate it.
“The one in Sekondi-Takoradi is very old. The investor we have gotten is thinking either to demolish or to renovate and we are yet to receive the cost benefit analysis, whether to keep the old one or to build a new one,” she further stated.
She concluded that the government will build a new theatre in Tamale once the funds are available.
Source: Citifmonline
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