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Tag: MUSIGA

  • MUSIGA honours Despite and others

    MUSIGA honours Despite and others

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    The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) has conferred its highest honours to the Chief Executive Officer of Despite Group of Companies, Dr Osei Kwame Despite, former First Lady Dr (Mrs) Nana Konadu Agyemang-Rawlings and Midland Savings and Loans Limited for their immense contributions in various capacities to the arts and entertainment industry of Ghana, especially the music section at second edition of the MUSIGA Grand Ball held at the Banquet Hall of the State House in Accra last Friday.

    The event that attracted a large number of the stakeholders in the creative arts industry witnessed historic performances from some of the music giants which include Abrantie Amakye Dede, A.K Yeboah, among others.

    A citation to Dr Osei Kwame Despite read: “At a time when most media organisations in Ghana were busily promoting western music, Dr Osei Kwame Despite, introduced Peace FM, that devoted 99 percent to Ghanaian music.

    Even before his foray into the media, he had established himself as a leading producer and distributor of Ghanaian music having worked with the tallest list of Ghanaian artistes.

    Till today, his Despite Music Shop continues to be a one-stop shop for all kinds of Ghanaian music serving as a depository for music over the years. The addition of Hello FM, Okay FM, Neat FM and U-TV to his media group meant even more exposure for Ghanaian music and culture. Dr Osei Kwame Despite has given the single biggest media support to MUSIGA activities.”

    The former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyemang- Rawlings was highly instrumental in the allocation of the current MUSIGA headquarters to the union. This was at a time when MUSIGA desperately needed a headquarters to commensurate the growing stature of the union,” the citation said.

    In a video message, the former First Lady of the Republic said, “This is not just an honour; it’s a reflection of how the music industry does not forget those who help in propelling its success. I am more than grateful.”

    Midland Savings and Loans Company was also honoured for working with the key stakeholders in the music industry in Ghana with a citation reading: “You’ve been working with key industry stakeholders on various projects, including giving over GH¢2 million in loans to musicians in the AJUMAPA Loan Scheme.

    You have supported the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards car prize donation; Ghana Music Week and the Grand Ball. Also, you have supported the government-sponsored KPMG research on the music sector, aimed at establishing the economic contribution of music to Ghana’s economy.

  • Jewel Ackah fights Obour

    Jewel Ackah fights Obour

     

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    jewel_Ackah

    One of Ghana’s prominent highlife musicians, Jewel Ackah, has descended heavily on the current administration of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) saying its President, Bice Osei Kuffour and his executives lack enough competence to manage the affairs at MUSIGA.

    The ace musician who sounded worried about the current state of the music industry told BEATWAVES in an interview last Friday in Accra that the elders of the Union have been sidelined by Obour and his cohorts who are rather inexperienced, heartless and do not have the welfare of the entire musicians at heart.

    Jewel Ackah also hinted that Obour had failed to involve elders of the industry in their decision-making process, and stressed that “the root cause of the problems facing the Ghanaian musician today is bad leadership, that is what we are seeing at MUSIGA right now.”

    According to him, Obour lacks better understanding of what he is doing and “as far as governing music is concerned, Obour has failed totally and has also failed to live up to expectation.”

    Jewel Ackah, who described Obour as a wrong choice for MUSIGA presidency explained that Obour had created more harm to the Union than good “and most of the musicians are not happy with him.”

    He stressed that there were several cracks including bad leadership in the Union, and it was high time the stakeholders came together to help find solutions to the numerous problems confronting the Union.

    The ace musician continued that “the sad news is that musicians in Ghana today have no idea what they are due, several donors have been said to donate to musicians’ fund and nobody knows how much and how those monies have been disbursed.”

    He also condemned the government for releasing the GH¢2 million (¢20 billion old currency) budget allocation to the creative arts industry to MUSIGA instead of the Music Council of Ghana (MCG).

    He said the circumstances under which the government released the money to MUSIGA alone was quite mysterious, especially when the Minister of Finance, in reading the budget statement, had stated that the money was meant for the creative arts industry.

    He told BEATWAVES that the stakeholders in the creative arts industry were unhappy because they have not been properly informed about how the GH¢2 million money was expended.

    He said the money that was given to MUSIGA was tax payers’ money, which he thinks should be accounted for.

    “I believe Obour should be made to acount for the money because we don’t know how the money was used.”

    On the issue of Ghana Music Right Organization (GHAMRO), Jewel Ackah said he personally does not see anything wrong with them, “they are doing a very good job and we need to support them. Fighting will not solve our problems. We need to come together and work as a team to meet the challenges ahead.”