MUSIGA to release ‘peace campaign’ album

21 Apr 2016 - 13:28

The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has announced plans to record and release an album to promote peace, ahead of the country’s general elections taking place in November. To that end, the association has called for entries from its members, with the top prize of GHC 10,000 ($2,600) to be given to a single entry.

Heads of MUSIGA and guests. Photo: Facebook

The call, opened early April, closes on 29 April. The project is in partnership with the organisation STAR-Ghana (Strengthening Transparency, Accountability and Responsiveness in Ghana), who chose MUSIGA alongside 35 civil society organisations as partners dedicated to striving towards peaceful and credible elections.

Besides choosing eventual winner, MUSIGA will also select two more artists who will receive cash prizes. All three competitors will be up for the VGMA category of Development Song of the Year. All three songs will also appear on the compilation album, which is expected to contain more than a dozen tracks. Songs from currently recording artists will also be featured on the album.

According to Bessa Simons, head of the song selection committee and Vice President MUSIGA, only well-recorded songs and with a clear theme of peaceful and credible elections, will be considered for the album and contest.

To alert the populace, The Musicians Union of Ghana will hold a number of peace walks and concerts from May to explain the need for a non-violent and credible elections under a program dubbed “Using Musical as A Tool for National Cohesion in Election 2016.” On social media, MUSIGA announced, “Watch out for the MUSIGA Peace album compilation and the MUSIGA Election 2016 Peace campaign.”

Already, in a different arrangement with a group called Youth Icons Ghana, President of MUSIGA Osei Bice Kuffor (also known as Obour) has recorded a video in support of peace. “I pledge for peace,” he says in the video. “Choose peace. I support the Ghana Peace Pledge campaign. Do too.”

For more information visit the MUSIGA website

MUSIGA