Lack of sponsorship and high taxation harming Ghana's comedy industry - Jeneral Ntatia

Ghanaian stand-up comedian Jeneral Ntatia has cited the absence of corporate sponsorship and an unfavourable tax regime as the two biggest threats facing event organisers and performers in the country.

Speaking in an interview with TV3 on April 29, 2026, Ntatia explained that staging a comedy show in Ghana is a financially draining exercise.

He described a situation where comedians invest heavily in setting up and promoting the show and still end up owing money when the show does not perform as expected.

“The challenges we are facing in the industry are lack of sponsorship and high taxation.

“If you want to put up a show, you have to put up billboards across town, rent an auditorium and everything. No support from anywhere, and then when you finish you have to be taxed. It's not easy,” he said.

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Ntatia revealed that the situation has at times pushed him to give out free tickets simply to avoid the embarrassment of an empty auditorium, a practice he has since resolved to abandon.

“Sometimes you even have to share tickets when you realise that the show is not going to go well. In order not to keep an empty auditorium, it's better to pack the place for people to enjoy. Until recently I said I'm not giving tickets out again,” he said.

He contrasted this with the tax regime in European countries where production companies receive tax exemptions to enable them to employ people, with taxes then collected from workers' earnings.

“They tax the individuals, the performers and the crew. They tax the amount that they are going to be paid and everything. Unlike here, they leave those who are going to perform and they tax the production house after they've paid people,” he said.

Despite the hardships, Ntatia said it is a deep love for the craft and a desire to bring joy to audiences that has kept him and his colleagues going.

“It is the love of it that kept us going. We want to see people happy. That's who we are,” he said.

ID/BAI

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