Creatives have been treated like they can't lead - Socrate Safo

Former Director of the National Commission on Culture and NPP member, Socrate Safo, has argued that creatives in public office do possess the intellectual capacity to hold and effectively manage such positions.

Speaking on the ‘Gentlemen & Gentlemen’ podcast, Safo said he is envious over how creatives are being treated under the current administration of President John Mahama, as compared to how he was treated during the New Patriotic Party (NPP)-led admistration.

"It is beautiful to watch how President Mahama is actually treating creatives. I feel so jealous, so, so jealous about how my colleagues are being treated. And I'm excited for them that they are being respected," he said.

I was not treated fairly by the NPP - Socrate Safo

Safo took aim at the long-held perception that people from the creative arts lack the mental capacity for governance, describing such thinking as deeply flawed.

"Over the years, creatives have been treated as if they don't have the mental fortitude to run. Can you tell me that a creative person who picks a blank sheet of paper, scribbles something on it, and somebody can look at it and cry or be excited, doesn't have the mental fortitude to operate in an office?" he challenged.

Citing his experience, Safo explained that leadership is largely about vision and direction while technocrats handle the technical execution.

"When I went to office, I was a political head. I had the ideas, but there were technocrats there. That doesn't mean that if you put any independent person in an office, he cannot function," he said.

He also called on the NPP to do more in recognising and appointing creatives, urging the party to embrace the problem-solving potential that creative minds bring to governance.

Watch the video below:

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