High airfares threaten this year’s Panafest

The 200-member delegation from Trinidad and Tobago, planning to attend this year’s pan-African-historical-theatre-festival (PANAFEST) has drastically reduced to about 50 due to the Panafest Foundation. Dr. Ben Abdallah, who spoke about the high prices at the launch of the Festival in Elmina, said desperate efforts made by the foundation to have the fares reduced had yielded no results. The action of the airlines, he noted, could threaten the successful celebration of the biennial event as it is likely to discourage prospective celebrants of the festival, slated for Friday, July 22 to Monday, August 1, also the Emancipation Day. Participants are largely African in the Diaspora, across the continent and beyond. Dr. Abdallah said should the high fares remain; it would the patronage of the 10th edition and 20th anniversary for 2012. He therefore called on stakeholders to institute measures to get the airlines on board as partners because they are the sole beneficiaries of the event and recalled years back when Ghana Airways was part of the sponsors of the Festival.