Govt will develop arts, creative industry — Osafo-Maafo

The government will allocate the needed resources and also take key policy decisions to develop the arts and creative industry to make it more viable, the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, has said.

According to him, the country abounded in enormous cultural potential that ought to be harnessed through deliberate investment in infrastructure to create employment opportunities and also generate the needed foreign exchange.

“As a country, we cannot do anything without culture because it is our unique culture that sets us apart from other countries; so if the government wants to promote Ghana, it must first invest in culture,” the minister stated at the fifth anniversary of Ghana Culture Day in Accra last Tuesday.

The event, which was under the auspices of the Ghana Culture Forum, was on the theme: “60th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence: Cultural Re-orientation for the Birth of a New Ghanaian.”

The participants who were drawn from the Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), traditional authorities, the academia and players in the creative arts industry displayed the rich Ghanaian culture.

Initiatives

Mr Osafo-Maafo said as part of investment initiatives by the government, theatres would be constructed in all regional capitals to boost cultural infrastructure and develop domestic tourism.

He emphasised that efforts would be made by the government to revamp the teaching of creative arts, especially, in first and second cycle educational institutions so that the younger generation would be imbibed with cultural values early in life.

“As a core minister in the government’s economic management team, I will personally be an advocate for the right structures to be put in place to project the country’s culture in a manner that will build bridges and foster national integration,” the minister added.

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Reflection

The Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MTAC), Mrs Catherine Abelema Afeku, said the theme for the event was apt and asked the public to reflect on the 60-year journey of the country and re-orient their mindset to be in tune with the national development agenda.

She said the way forward to remain culturally relevant in an era of globalisation was for more priority to be placed on safeguarding the nation’s culture through conscious programmes.

“To make the clarion call for prioritisation of culture important, the MTAC will initiate steps to review the Ghana Culture Policy of 2000 to make it reflect the current demands,” the minister said.

Mrs Afeku also gave an assurance that the government would complete work on all regional cultural centres that had stalled, while other dilapidated facilities would also be given a facelift.

She, therefore, asked stakeholders and players in the industry to collaborate and cooperate with the MTAC to implement policies and remove barriers to promote the growth of the sector.

Legacy

The convenor of the Ghana Culture Forum, Professor Esi Sutherland-Addy, observed that it was important for the current generation to strive to protect the legacies of the country by tackling cultural issues within the local context.

She also called for policies that would mainstream cultural issues into the national development planning agenda through strengthening of legal frameworks.

“There is the need for space to be created for a symbiotic relationship to exist between culture and innovation such that we do not lose our core values,” she added.