Aging fund for artistes is wrong – Socrate Safo tells Mahama

Controversial movie producer Socrate Sarfo has described president Mahama’s plan to create fund for aging artistes should he win this year’s general election as a wrong move.

The flag bearer for the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) during the presentation of the Highlights of the NDC Manifesto 2016 at the Banquet Hall, State House announced plans to establish a Provident Fund for aging artistes should the National Democratic Congress (NDC) win power in the December polls.

Socrate Safo on Pluzz FM in Accra argued that government does not employ entertainers so he does not understand why they want to create a fund for them when they grow old. To him, if such a plan is in the NDC 2016 manifesto, then a fund should also be created for drivers, carpenters, journalists and other individuals working with private sectors.

He concluded that the promise by NDC to create aging fund is to deceive persons in the creative arts industry.

“To tell me that you will set up aging fund for old artistes is technically wrong because actors do not work for government. How about aging funds for taxi drivers, carpenters, journalists who are working with the private sector. These are some of the things I always say that when someone is promising you, you listen to him attentively to decide if he is deceiving you or not.

If you talk about aging fund, how are you going to do that because it is a private sector. Government doesn’t pay the actors I work with for him to establish SSNIT for them. We already have a lot of private pension schemes so how can the government put that in his manifesto. That tells you that the manifesto for NDC was not prepared by industry practitioners based on sound practical advice.

It was just a matter of people sitting there thinking of what we can say to convince them. Government can give me loan but to tell me you are going to give me pension pay how are you going to do it? That should tell you that they are just telling lies to deceive us.” Socrate Safo told Sammy Flex when discussing the NDC manifesto on Creative Arts.