My reign as MUSIGA President a lasting legacy for generations to come – Obour

Outgoing Musician Union of Ghana [MUSIGA] President, Bice Osei Kuffour popularly known as Obour believes he has performed creditably in his eight-year rule as the leader of musicians in Ghana.

Obour who was re-elected to lead the musicians’ body for the second term [2015 to 2019] will hand over the mantle to the new president to be decided on by members of the union in June, 2019.

Two terms as president of the MUSIGA, the hiplife musician is well pleased about the numerous achievements for the union.

In an interview with Kasapafmonline.com, Obour said he is done a lot for the union which he believes will be a lasting legacy for generations to come.

He admitted that there were few concerns which he was unable to address during his tenure as the President of MUSIGA regarding getting a policy which is supported by law to push for more airplay of local music on radio and television as part of promoting the country’s culture.

In 2018, Obour called on the Communications Ministry to hasten its efforts to pass the Broadcasting Bill which has been in the works for some time now.

He referred to a document submitted by the Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) and the Ghana Actors Guild (GAG) in September last year which highlighted issues of concern to the three organizations.

The issues include conditions such as payments of user fees to GHAMRO or ARSOG for royalties before the renewal of registrations for broadcasting operators; the definition of local content used by broadcasters and the amount of local content for broadcast which the proposal suggests should be 70% local content and 30% foreign.

“If I’d another mandate as president of MUSIGA, I would’ve pushed for a policy that will be backed by law for our music to enjoy more percentage on radio and television.”

The president of the Musicians Union of Ghana also stated that if he should get another mandate to continue with the good works he is started, he would have strengthened the Union’s Regional branches.

“Another vital issue I would’ve worked hard to fix if I’m still the president of MUSIGA, is to strengthen the Regional branches of the Union.” Obour told Kasapafmonline.com

The Obour led administration has chalked many successes in the development of MUSIGA and the music industry as a whole. From; making Musiga a household name, providing jobs for musicians, organizing capacity building workshops, artiste development fora, providing effective administration and transparent governance amongst others.

LANDMARK ACHIEVEMENTS

1. Effective rebranding of Musiga- the Union have become more attractive to industry players and other stakeholders. This has been achieved through effective PR and marketing initiatives.

2. Membership categorization with accompanying benefits (including legal advice, facilitation in musical works registration and royalty collection, discounted services eg. health insurance, group life insurance etc), Re-registration of over 1,000 members, the establishment of new membership database and increase in membership by 200 percent.

3. Establishment of the Ageing Musicians Welfare Fund and yearly distribution of support to members and holding of medical screening exercise for beneficiaries- Over 200 musicians have benefitted from the AMWEF Fund.

4. Effective Collective Rights Management( GHAMRO) – the Union led the revolution to achieving an effective administration for Ghamro in line with accepted standard international practices.

5. MUSIGA ACADEMY – Collaboration with School of Performing Arts (S.P.A) and National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI) to provide professional training and skills for players in the Music Industry.

6. Comprehensive Survey on Music Industry in Ghana to identify the economic contribution of the sector to GDP and also to advise policy direction and public and private investment in the music sector.

7. Government subvention of 2 Million Ghana Cedis – The Union for the first time was able to access government funding through a budgetary allocation for research, music fair & peace campaign, capacity building and project administration.

8. Establishment of the Midland- Musiga Ajumapa Business Loans – low interest and relatively collateral free loan to enable Musiga members access funds for their projects.

9. Institutionalization of Ghana Music Week Festival, Musiga Grand Ball and Asanteman Arts Ball and Awards as event brands to raise funds for Union projects and to promote and create jobs for members.

10. Formalization of Ghana music awards arrangement with Charterhouse and Provision of car prize for chosen VGMA winners over last three years. For the first time, A formal agreement was signed between Charterhouse and Musiga on the organization of the Ghana Music Awards scheme.

11. Regional Support for Capacity Building – During the 1st term of the leadership of Obour, an amount of GHc 100,000.00 was distributed among the 10 regional offices of Musiga for capacity building and development projects.

Obuor’s administration has come under serious criticism by people who think his policies are not improving their careers.

Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) is an umbrella group that unites all musicians in Ghana irrespective of life music genre.