I will introduce digital and streaming platforms for artistes – Bawumia

The flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr Mahamadu Bawumia, has promised to create digital platforms for Ghanaian artistes if he becomes Ghana’s next president.

The flagbearer of the NPP, speaking at his lecture dubbed ‘Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless Leadership and Bold Solutions for the Future’ at the University of Professional Studies in Accra on February 7, 2024, emphasized that such platforms will boost tourism and creative arts industry.

“We will introduce other initiatives such as digital and streaming platforms for our artists to make tourism and the creative arts a growth pole in Ghana,” he said.

The party made a similar promise on the creative industry in the 2020 Manifesto of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

“We will build a digital platform for artists to make their products available to the global market,” the NPP stated.

Dr Bawumia also pledged to build on the Year of Return, Beyond the Return, and December in Ghana.

He further touched on alleviating the burden of taxes on the creatives.

“Tax incentives will also be provided for film producers and musicians,” he said.

Finally, Dr Bawumia said, “To boost tourism and job creation, my government will implement an e-visa policy for all international visitors to Ghana to enable visas to be obtained in minutes subject to security and criminal checks”.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has come under serious scrutiny by the creative industry stakeholders for reneging on several of its promises.

Some of the NPP’s unfulfilled promises are setting up the Creative Arts Fund to support artistes and constructing theatres in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.

The NPP also promised that “given that our artistes do not have the capital to set up studios, we will, as part of the entrepreneurial hub’s strategy, establish, in partnership with the private sector, large recording studios in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi. Recording artists can rent space to do the recordings in these studios”.

That promise has also not been fulfilled by the NPP government.

Moreover, the construction of a convention and exhibition centre at the Ghana Trade Fair Company site, La., has not been completed.