Elmina, March 3,GNA- Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Minister of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City on Wednesday launched PANAFEST 2005, scheduled for July 4 to August 1.

The annual festival slated for Cape Coast and Assin Manso in the Central Region, is on the theme: "Preserving and Uniting the African family In the Fight Against HIV/AIDS".

Activities planned include, a carnival, colloquium, trade fair and a maiden 'Miss PANAFEST' competition.

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey who launched the festival at Elmina, called on Ghanaians to use the occasion to close the "physical and spiritual" gap created by the slave trade.

He said in a speech read on his behalf that it had become "one of the cardinal tenets of his ministry, to nurture the concept of Ghana as the gateway to the homeland of Africans in the Diaspora".

Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey commended the organisers of PANAFEST for packaging and marketing the event efficiently and also linking it with HIV/AIDS, in order to create more awareness about the pandemic.

Mr Kohain Halevi Rabbi, Executive Secretary of PANAFEST Foundation, expressed the hope that this year's festival, "will be the greatest and most successful event to be organised", and urged all stakeholders to contribute their quota towards its success.

Mr Nkunu Akyea, Executive Director, Ghana Heritage Conservation Trust, a Non-governmental organisation, advised parents to discourage their children from begging from tourists who visits the Cape Coast and Elmina Castles.

He described the activities of these 'beggars', as harassment, which could discourage tourists from visiting the castles.

Osabarima Kwesi Atta II, Omanhene of Oguaa Traditional Area and National Chairman of the PANAFEST Committee, who chaired the function asked Ghanaians to endeavour to be part of PANAFEST 2005, as a positive step towards the promotion of the tourism industry.