10 things Mahama must do for the creative industry in his first year

After months and weeks of fierce electioneering campaigns, Ghana has elected its President and parliamentary candidates. Congratulations to President-Elect John Dramani Mahama and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on their victory.

Ghanaians have very high expectations of John Mahama and will not hesitate to vent their spleen on the new government if it reneges on its promises.

While the citizens of Ghana look forward to seeing Mahama honour the provisions in his 120-day social contract, the creative industry also has some priority areas that must be tackled as soon as possible.

Prior to Dthe ecember 7, 2024 election, Joy FM was very instrumental in the politics of the creative industry as we engaged stakeholders in the arts on what the industry really needs. We also held the historic Manifesto Debate on Creative Economy which offered representatives from the political parties a platform to explain their policy ideas for the tourism, arts and culture sector.

The NDC which has won power, has outlined more than twenty-two (22) policy ideas for the creative industry but the truth of the matter is that they can’t fulfill all these promises. For John Mahama to make any meaningful impact on our sector, he needs to reach out for the low hanging fruits and the things we really need, first. He needs to, for example, discard that idea of providing a television channel for events. That proposal is wishy-washy and must not be considered.

In tandem with this, I present ten (10) things Mahama must consider for the creative economy as soon he is sworn into office on 7th January, 2025.

(1) No Deputy Minister: He should scrap the deputy positions for most of the ministries including our Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture. There is enough evidence to show that the deputy ministers are merely titular and perform little or no functions at all. When you hold them accountable, they tell you they are not in charge and that they just assist their bosses. Truly, they have never been in charge because the constitution does not put them in charge. Our ministry needs just one minister, particularly someone from our industry or someone who really understands the creative economy. There are directors and CEOs at the various institutions in the ministry who can always work with the minister. Under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture alone, we have the CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, CEO of Ghana Tourism Development Company, CEO of National Film Authority, Director of National Commission on Culture, Executive Director of National Theatre, Director at National Folklore Board, Director of Creative Arts at the Ministry, Director of Tourism at the Ministry and Executive Secretary of Creative Arts Agency.

Other institutions and agencies like the Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park, the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board, Bureau of Ghana Languages, Pan-African Writers Association, Hotel Training and Tourism Institute, the W.E.B. Du Bois Centre which also fall under the ministry, all have directors.

To cap it all, the Ministry even has a Chief Director in the person of Robert Patrick Ankobiah, who took over from John Yao Agbeko in September 2024.

With all these people at post and considering how less powerful the deputy minister position is, it’s a waste of tax payer’s money to have someone deputise for a substantive minister.

President Mahama should scrap that position, and just appoint one person who has grasp of the industry as the Minister. This will even help him achieve his quest to have fewer number of ministers.

(2) Build the amphitheatres: In his first year, Mahama should finish up with the construction of the 5 amphitheatres that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) started working on. There is a World Bank money already sitting for that project. I understand the NDC has planned on renovating the cultural centres across the country (a promise they made in 2012 but failed to honour when they assumed power in 2013), but they need to first finish up with the amphitheatres.

(3). Assent all LIs: In the last quarter of the year, reports say the Legislative Instruments of the Creative Arts Arts (1048) and that for the Classification of Film Development Act (935) and the Culture Policy, were presented to parliament for assent. John Mahama should expedite the ratification of these documents, form a Board for the Creative Arts Agency and resource the National Film Authority. The real “norming” of our industry begins here.

(4) ‘Steal’ some NPP ideas: Some of the NPP policy ideas are laudable. Tap into them. That is the beauty of democracy. Implement the Travel Protocol Service policy proposed by the NPP in their manifesto which seeks to ease the stress creatives go through when travelling outside the country for their assignments. Also even though the Blackstar Experience by the NDC is a good concept, they should not scrap the Beyond the Return and December in GH initiatives started by the NPP. The NPP government did an amazing job with these initiatives which have given Ghana a very positive image on the international scene, and have as well caused a boost in our tourism and arts especially during the Yuletide. We can’t drop the ball. Make them part of the Experience.

(5) ) The tax breaks! The NDC has promised to Introduce tax breaks for creative artists who have Tax Identification Numbers(TIN). This has been the headache of industry people and if they are able to implement it, they will win the hearts of a lot of the people. The percentages of taxes paid by these fledgling creative event companies and individuals is becoming a burden for them. The Orange Economy is a gold mine which can contribute greatly to our GDP. We only need to ensure proper measures like streamlining the creatives’ tax contributions and providing them with the right education on taxation.

(6) Stakeholder meetings: Don’t forget to hold annual stakeholders dialogue with people in the Creative Arts as you have promised. Mahama doesn’t even need to be personally present at these meetings. The minister or directors can take up that task. Engaging with industry and getting feedback in time, will greatly help the development of the nation. Do not renege on this promise!

(7) Fix the ramshackle copyright system: Take care of the copyright system in the first year. Amend the copyright laws and re-structure royalty collection and distribution modalities as soon as possible. I will defer to a suggestion that was once made by artiste manager Kwasi Ernest that let radio and television stations pay their royalties before you issue or renew their licences. Our creatives are losing out on their due as a result of poor royalty collection and distribution system.

(8) Marine Drive Project: The incoming government should pay attention to the Marine Drive Project which has been abandoned by this government for a while. It was just about three weeks ago that they visited the site and shared photos to that effect; just a few weeks to election. Also, President Mahama should investigate any form of financial mismanagement that may have taken place in this project’s execution.

(9) Reinstate cultural attachés: Mahama should also restore the cultural attachés in our missions abroad. The attachés in the past helped in shaping cultural diplomacy decisions and promoting Ghana’s cultural identity abroad. There is a lot to learn about how the South African government has positioned itself in selling their culture and tourism abroad. For example, in Ghana, they have been able to market their arts and culture beautifully to the Ghanaian community. During December in GH, they have their own strategy of plugging their amapiano music in Ghana. They even insist commercials and Live Presenter Mentions for their arts products and services on Ghanaian radio are done with amapiano music as bed. We can achieve a similar effect if we re-instate our cultural attachés in our missions in foreign countries.

(10) Pay attention to art education: Make the teaching and learning of creative arts in our schools more effective. Train enough creative arts teachers for the various basic schools in the country. One of the major challenges of arts education at the basic level is that there are usually lack of teachers who are well-versed in the creative arts subjects. Also provide the right teaching and learning materials for this. Award scholarships to arts students who excel. In a growing music industry like Ghana’s, it is quite unfortunate that none of our tertiary institutions offers any course in Music Business. President Mahama should take up the challenge to introduce this course in some of our tertiary institutions. Lastly, make Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths (STEAM) your primary focus.

Mr. President-Elect, development is a continuum. We know you can’t do everything. But you can’t take us back, too.

Our industry has no time for honeymoon, sir. Make Ghana and yourself proud. “It is finished”!