Franklin Cudjoe believes MUSIGA could have used only GHC400,000 for its research on the industry.
The founding President and Chief Executive Officer of IMANI Centre for Policy & Education, Franklin Cudjoe has expressed surprise at the fact that the Musicians Union of Ghana headed by Bice Osei Kuffour aka Obour used a whopping GHC 2 Million allocated to it by the government of Ghana in 2012 for a research on the industry.
In a post titled ‘The Tango Over Creative Arts Taxation- Why Government Must Hasten Slowly’, Franklin elucidated the cumbersome nature of the creative arts industry and how it is in itself “not well organised to understand why they should pay rents to the state except of course, those who are loosely connected to collect royalties from their works and get mega gigs to perform musically or make appearances in popular films.”
He was however gobsmacked at the fact that Obour used a whopping GHC 2 Million for an industry research which could cost far less especially as his outfit IMANI Center for Policy and Education and The Tony Elumelu Foundation jointly researched the “The Creative Industry Space in Africa: Developing the Right Environment for African Creative Entrepreneurs” at an amount less than Ghc 20,000.
He however admitted the research by his outfit and The Tony Elumelu Foundation “was mostly online and through telephone conversations.”
A part of his post reads:
“It is important to mention, that Ghanaian artiste are generally difficult to manage, as most lack the discipline to understand that their works can have value. Carlos Sakyi did a whole lot for them in that space but unfounded suspicions led to the good guy leaving them to their fate.
I want to believe Obuor as MUSIGA President is having his fair share of the blame. I wonder though how it is MUSIGA spent a whopping Ghc 2million on a study of the industry that frankly should cost about Ghc 400,000. There are splinter groups and it is my hope that the Creative Arts Council under the supervision of Mark Okraku Mantey will bring some sanity to the otherwise wonderful industry.
That said, earlier this year, IMANI Center for Policy and Education & The Tony Elumelu Foundation jointly researched the “The Creative Industry Space in Africa: Developing the Right Environment for African Creative Entrepreneurs”. The research work costs us less than Ghc 20,000 albeit it was mostly online and through telephone conversations.
In 2012, the creative arts sector was allocated an amount of GH¢ 2 million as part of the fiscal budget of the government of Ghana.
Ever since the amount was allocated, the president of the union, Bice Osei Kuffour, has been hit with series of allegations of misappropriation that money.
According to Obour, about GH¢ 800,000 was used to pay for the research and its execution (eg. Paying research consultants). GH¢ 800, 000 was also used for the Ghana Music Week Festival. The remainder is yet to be accounted for.
