Accra, March 2, GNA - Thirteen sculptural designs depicting various Ghanaian symbols and cultural heritage were on Friday unveiled in front of the Department of National Lotteries on High Street as part of the programme for the modernization of the capital city programme. The sculptures carved by Professor Harry Sammy Cudjoe Fancey of Ale Sculptures Limited shows the various Adinkra symbols, Ghanaian musical instruments, symbols of unity and historical happenings among other cultural codes.

Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Diasporan Relations, who unveiled the sculptures, said there was a need to create places for relaxation and tourist attraction in Accra.

"Accra is in danger of becoming a jumble of buildings with limited space for relaxation," he noted, and expressed his Ministry's programme to create more open spaces for tourism purposes. Mr George Addo Yobo, Director of Operations at the Department of National Lotteries, said the provision of space for the sculptural designs in front of their offices was part of the company's restructuring programme which also fitted into the development and modernization of the capital city.

He noted that the designs were the first of their kind and urged people to see them as national assets and protect them for posterity. Prof. Fancey said the decision to carve the sculptures came as an idea when he was walking along the High Street three years ago. He appealed to Ghanaians to use the traditional symbols created by our forefathers as a tool to promote Ghana while expressing concern about the dependency on foreign artistic materials.