Inaugurate Creative Arts Agency Board, appoint Legal Executive Secretary now - FOCAP tells government

The Foundation of Creative Arts Professionals (FOCAP) has urgently called on the government to inaugurate the Creative Arts Agency Board, as mandated by the Creative Arts Act 1048 of 2020.

FOCAP asserts that President Akufo-Addo’s failure to adhere to t the legal requirement, and the appointment of his daughter to lead the agency, contravenes the law’s provisions detailed in Section 4 regarding the board’s composition and governance.

Below is the full statement from FOCAP:

Foundation of Creative Arts Professionals (FOCAP) has requested the Government to Inaugurate the Creative Arts Agency Board NOW as the law demands.

Act 1048 which was passed in 2020 actually directed the President to inaugurate the Board and appoint an Executive Secretary so it can register all the Enterprises in the Creative Arts Sector within a year.

Indeed, Act 1048 did not only ask the President to inaugurate the Board but actually directed how it should be done with regards to individuals and institutions that make up the board and this can be found in section 4 of the Act titled The Governing Body.

Strangely the President who is also a Legal Practitioner has decided NOT to inaugurate the Board as per the law but has rather placed her daughter there to run the entire Agency.

Unfortunately, her incompetence has shown in her actions from painting of under-bridges to trying to register individuals instead of enterprises as the law requires and also acting as a Visa contractor when all these initiatives must be sanctioned by a Governing BOARD and NOT by any individual.

It’s obvious that anyone who toys with the Creative Arts Agency is toying with the entire industry since it plays a very vital role in the industry including giving out grants to its stakeholders. Such a key institution of the industry cannot be toyed with like we’re all witnessing.

The last excuse the government gave for his Failure to inaugurate the board was that they needed an L.I to implement it which was a blatant Lie since the same government inaugurated the National Film Authority BOARD without an L.I. and by this FOCAP is asking the Government to implement the law accordingly instead of the illegalities being perpetrated in the full glare of industry.

Seriously, Section 33 of Act 1048 states that failure by the Agency to register all enterprises within a year after the passage of the law which was signed in 2020 will make all stakeholders Criminals and liable to a jail term of 2years and this abnormality must be curtailed by instituting the Board NOW.

Kojo Preko Dankwa

President

Mel Kwesi Davis

Vice President – Administration

Enock Agyepong

Research

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