Sale of Ghana Film Industry Corporation was strategic - Sadiq defends NDC

A spokesperson on Creative Arts for the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Sadiq Abdulai Abu has justified the party's decision to sell the Ghana Film Industry Corporation (GFIC) when it was in power, accentuating that it "was a strategic move by the NDC administration to allow private investors create more value for our country via the assets of the Corporation."

The Ghana government in 1964 established GFIC after it inherited the industry from its colonial masters. Among others, it trained promising filmmakers purposely for education and socio-economic development. In 1996, however, the government of Ghana sold 70% of the equity in the GFIC to Malaysian television production company, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Berhad of Kuala Lumpur.

As the country readies for elections in December, some electorates, particularly persons in the arts, have questioned why the NDC claims to have the interest of the industry at heart when it sold the Ghana Film Industry Corporation.

"You sold the Ghana Film Industry Corporation; so why should I trust you that when you come back, you'll fix it?" asked George Bosompem of the Ghana Academy of Film and Television Arts (GAFTA) during the Creative Arts and Tourism debate over the weekend.

Mounting a spirited defense for his party, Sadiq said the decision formed part of the NDC's plan to allow private entities to invest in the sector since the government was not in the capacity to do so at the time.

"You'd recognise that in terms of the investment they brought, it's brought a lot more value to the film and television space," he stated, citing how TV3 which now occupies the space has performed creditably over the years.

Although he received plaudits for his answer, Sadiq has in a social media post detailed why the sale of the Corporation was apt.

Below is his post:

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The sale of Ghana Film Industry Corporation was a strategic move by the NDC administration to allow private investors create more value for our country via the assets of the Corporation. It’s been nearly 24 years after the sale and it’s quite evident the value that sale has brought to the film and television industry in Ghana. TV3 which came out of that sale, has not only consistently be one of the biggest TV stations in Ghana if not the No.1 for a long time but their impact in providing direct and indirect employment to a lot of film makers and people involved in the business of producing audio-visual content in Ghana cannot be understated. Aside from providing employment to many who work on their productions in house, TV3 continues to commission and acquire content from Ghanaian film and content creators. Today, that singular strategic decision has led to the expansion of TV3 to a 360 media group that continues to provide value to the creative economy as well providing an platform for the promotion and growth of Ghanaian businesses. With TV3 and the Media general group, the value created for our economy and our sector is better than it would have been with the then ailing Ghana Film Corporation. Next steps to unlock the value for our film industry is to properly re-tool the National Film Authority which was birthed from the Film Bill passed by the NDC in 2016 and operationalised the much needed revolving fund prescribed by the bill. The next NDC government and H.E John Dramani Mahama is looking to do this. We intentionally passed the film bill for a specific reason and we will deliver on it when we come back to power. PS// I have been told the Media General group directly employs more than 1500 people across Ghana and indirectly employs more than that number.

A post shared by BABA SADIQ (@sadiqabdulaiabu) on Nov 1, 2020 at 3:44am PST