The country’s 50th independence anniversary celebrations would be incomplete without the Central region playing a key role in it,the Central Regional Minister, Nana Ato Arthur has said. He stressed that as the former capital of the then Gold Coast, the region played important roles in the political history of the country and therefore it would be significant to be accorded that recognition. Nana Arthur made the remarks when the leader of the British House of Lords, Baroness Valerie Amos paid a courtesy call on him at his residency as part of a day’s visit to the region. He said the infamous signing of the bond of 1844 was made in the region, while the Aborigines Protections Rights and the first two political parties in the country also originated from the region. On the potentials of the region, Nana Arthur described it as the “tourism hub” of Ghana and said a number of attractions, including castles and forts, beautiful serene beaches, the Kakum National Park and other eco-tourism sites could be found in the area. He said the region is also the cradle of education that could boast of about ten of the country’s most prestigious schools where most of the nation’s top civil servants and other officials were trained. The Minister expressed concern that the region was not doing well in terms of industry as most of them, including the Komenda Sugar factory, the Pomadze Poultry Far, the Saltpond Ceramics, among others have collapsed. He told the Baroness that the region was looking forward to seek investment to revamp all the industries to help generate employment and create wealth to help boost its socio-economic status. Baroness Amos said the celebration of the nation’s 50th independence was an important occasion not only in the country’s history but the entire African continent and hoped the issue of the economic growth of the continent would be spearheaded by Ghana. She said Britain would celebrate the 200th year of the abolition of the slave trade this year; adding that much work needed to be done to have that trade totally abolished. Baroness Amos later visited the dungeons of the Elmina and Cape Coast castles. Source: GNA