Nominations for MUSIGA open

Nominations opened last week Monday 27 July and will last a month, with a hundred and fifty delegates expected to take part in the congress.

To be eligible to contest in any of the positions, candidates must be literate in the country’s official language English. The prospective candidate must also have no prior criminal record and be in possession of a sound mind. It is mandatory that each contestant is a paying member of the association.

Specific positions have added rules of eligibility. For instance, every candidate for the presidency must have held a previous position in the executive strata of MUSIGA, either at the national or regional level. No newcomers to the union will be allowed to contest at the top level of MUSIGA.

The fees, according to a statement from Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, MUSIGA’s Director of Communications and Special Projects, are as follows: GH¢ 3,000 ($790) for president; GH¢ 2,000 ($530) for 1st vice-president, 2nd vice-president and general secretary; GH¢1,000 ($260) for treasurer, welfare officer and national organiser.

Already Appiah Dankwah (popularly known as Appietus), one of the country’s notable producers, has made it known he intends to vie for the position of president.

Speaking about the filing fees to seek nomination on the programme Showbiz Xtra, he said: ‘The GH¢3000 is cool. I know the politicians are paying about GH¢25,000 filing fees but we musicians also have money and we play shows and get more than GH¢3000 per show, if you are going to vie for a position like that and your pay is going to be GH¢2,500 a month which might probably increase before you enter office then the filing fees is okay.’

Bice Osei Kuffour, who plays and performs hiplife music under the stage name Obour, is the current head of the union. He was elected in 2011 and is expected by some to seek a second tenure in office.