A one-million dollar Culture Trust Fund has been established to support arts and culture in Ghana.

Already, ?2.5 billion has been released to the National Commission on Culture (NCC), which proposed its establishment, to enable it complete the necessary formalities for the smooth take-off of the Trust Fund.

This was contained in a speech read for President Kufuor by the Minister for Justice and Attorney-General, Papa Owusu Ankomah, at the first congress of artistes and cultural workers of Ghana. The theme for the congress was ?Harnessing the potential of arts and culture for national development.?

With the establishment of the Fund and approval of a policy document by government, the NCC is expected to complete numerous projects dotted throughout the country. Currently awaiting completion are cultural centres in Takoradi, Cape Coast and Sunyani.

President Kufuor noted that the creation of the Fund reflected government?s recognition of the great potential Ghanaians possessed in the field of creative arts, and urged Ghanaian musicians, among others in the arts industry, to take their cue from the benefits that neighbouring countries have derived from music.