MUSIGA Chairman threatens to sue GHAMRO

The Central Regional Chairman of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), George William Dickson, who is not happy with the activities of Ghana Music Right Organisation (GHAMRO), has threatened to go to court to declare the constitution of the GHAMRO null and void.

He disclosed that he was seeking an injunction on the interim board of GHAMRO because the set up and criteria by which they were constituted were wrong, adding that there were some clauses in the drafted constitution which are in the personal interest of the interim chairman.

In a statement issued, Mr. Dickson noted that the stakeholders in the music industry have disagreed with the Chairman of GHAMRO board, Carlos Sekyi, who wants to occupy his position for two years before holding election to elect board members.

He stressed that due to lack of good structures to protect the rights of the musicians, a large number of them could not make ends meet.

The ace musician, who was very worried about how some personalities were playing politics with the music industry and the lives of the musicians, said he would not sit unconcerned for the music industry to be destroyed.

He was of the view that it was high time the stakeholders put in place proper structures to protect the interest of the musicians and also flushed out “the mafias” who wanted to enrich themselves through the sweat of musicians.

Mr. Dickson called on the stakeholders, including music producers, to mount pressure on members of the interim board of GHAMRO and its chairman, to organize elections to elect a substantive board to manage the affairs of the society.

Mr. Dickson, who is also the executive director of Rhythms of African Music Foundation of Ghana and South Africa, an organization that is committed to improve the lives of musicians, noted that the board members of GHAMRO have also failed to tell musicians the total amount of money that was shared among musicians including the criteria used in sharing the money.

He also declared that executives of GHAMRO should make a list of all music users, including those who had failed to pay their royalties, for the stakeholders to know the amount each and every organization was paying.

He therefore called on the executives of MUSIGA, GHAMRO and all stakeholders in the regions as well as government to intervene as quickly as possible or prepare the culprits to face court action for resolution.

In another development, a group calling itself concerned members of GHAMRO in the Central Region has also planned to stage a gigantic demonstration against the GHAMRO interim chairman.

The group said it would soon demonstrate against street vendors selling pirated and illegal music.