The New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, has promised to provide internet platforms for Ghanaian artists if he is elected president.
He gave a speech on February 7, 2024, at the University of Professional Studies in Accra, with the theme “Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless Leadership and Bold Solutions for the Future.”
“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 New Patriotic Party (NPP) made a similar pledge regarding the creative industry in its 2020 manifesto.
“We will build a digital platform for artists to make their products available to the global market,” the NPP stated.
In addition, Dr. Bawumia pledged to expand on Ghana’s Beyond the Return, the December celebration of the Year of Return.
He went on to discuss easing the tax burden on creatives.
“Musicians and film producers will also receive tax incentives,” he said.
Lastly, Dr. Bawumia, who is currently Ghana’s vice president, declared, “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 to boost tourism and job creation.”
Stakeholders in the creative industry have taken the New Patriotic Party (NPP) very seriously because of its broken promises.
The establishment of the Creative Arts Fund to assist artists and the building of theaters in Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale are only a couple of the unmet promises made by the NPP.
In addition, the NPP declared that “as part of the entrepreneurial hub’s strategy, we will establish, in partnership with the private sector, large recording studios in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, and Takoradi, given that our artists do not have the capital to set up studios.” Recording artists can rent out these facilities to use for their productions.” Furthermore, that promise has not been kept.
