‘Many didn't even pick up my calls’ - Okraku-Mantey on Bawumia's meet-up with creatives

The Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has opened up about the challenges he faced in organising the recent creative arts industry meetup with Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia.

On October 16, 2024, Vice President Bawumia hosted a meeting with key figures in Ghana's creative arts and tourism sectors in Accra.

The event aimed at addressing the challenges facing industry professionals and outlining the NPP's plans for the sector.

However, concerns arose regarding the low attendance and speculation that only creatives aligned with the New Patriotic Party were invited.

In an interview with UTV, Okraku-Mantey revealed that he attempted to invite numerous creatives, but many did not attend, with some not even responding to his calls.

“I was the one who invited most creatives to the event. I had a long list of people, but many did not honour my invitation, and many didn’t even pick up my call.

“Most were not in the country, so you can imagine the difficulties we faced in getting people to attend,” he said.

He urged the public to focus on the substance of the discussions rather than the attendance, warning that negative commentary could discourage corporate sponsors essential for supporting industry events.

"Corporate institutions follow such events; they are the ones sponsoring our shows. If they see such commentary, they might think we are not serious about our industry and leave us in the same position we’ve been in," he stated.

The meetup was aimed at engaging the creative arts industry and emphasising the need for collective efforts to tackle challenges.

At the gathering, Dr. Bawumia proposed several initiatives, including a Creative Arts Development Fund, a Creative Arts Technology Hub, infrastructure development, tax incentives, a structured creative arts curriculum in schools, enhanced intellectual property rights protection, and expanded international market access.

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