Ghana's ruling party promises studios

This was made public by Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia during the NPP's 2020 manifesto launch in Cape Coast at the weekend.

“We see the creative arts as a major growth pole," he said. "It has so much talent, the problem is access to a studio. As a result, we will set up large recording studios in Accra, Tema, Takoradi and Kumasi, for recording artists to rent. ”

The announcement came days after Bawumia, who is President Nana Akufo-Addo's running mate, confirmed that cabinet had approved the Creative Arts Bill to be passed into law in the coming months.

The NPP's manifesto launch also saw other promises made for the creative arts space, including the introduction of a login system for royalty collection, a creative arts fund, the construction theatres in the country's regional capitals, and the establishment of a digital platform to market the works of local artists.

“We will build a digital platform for artists to make their products available for the global market,” the acting director of the National Folklore Board, Nana Adjoa Adobea Asante, said. “We will pursue the construction of modern, large seating theatres in every regional capital except Accra, beginning with Takoradi, Tamale and Kumasi, as well as setting up an additional copyright office in Tamale to cater for the northern sector in addition to the existing ones in Accra and Kumasi.”

The Akufo-Addo government is seeking to prolong its mandate at the polls on 7 December. It says it has “kept faith” with Ghana's citizens by fulfilling the majority of its first-term promises. Some in the creative space, however, challenge this claim and point to non-fulfilment of the party’s 2014 promises, such as the construction of modern theatres in the various regions and the delay of the Creative Arts Bill.

“What amazes me is that their 2016–20 promises they gave us and have not delivered are not in their carry-forward manifesto," broadcast journalist Halifax Ansah-Addo said. "You’re telling us to give you a second mandate but the promises you failed to fulfil are not part of your second batch of promises."