MUSIGA election won’t be free and fair says Ras Caleb

RAS Caleb Appiah-Levi, one of the three aspirants for the post of President in the upcoming general election of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), says he doesn’t trust the election scheduled for Tuesday, August 8 to select a new MUSIGA President will be free and fair.

His contention is that the acting MUSIGA President, Bessa Simons, is also an aspirant and such a situation cannot be trusted to bring about an impartial election.

All the same, he doesn’t intend to ‘fight’ for the right things to be done when those he describes as  “at the helm of affairs” have turned a blind eye to  measures that can create an equal playing field for all aspirants.

Speaking with Graphic Showbiz on Tuesday, May 16, Ras Caleb said he had been in favour of the establishment of an interim management committee to handle affairs for the upcoming election but his efforts had not yielded any results.

“I have been saying at committee meetings that we need an independent body to handle the election and its processes. I have been requesting an Interim Management Committee because the Electoral Commission of Ghana doesn’t contest elections. They only conduct elections.

“They also don’t compile the voters’ register. That is why I think Bessa Simons, who is the acting MUSIGA president, should not be a referee and a contestant at the same time. Per his role, he will supervise the compilation of the voters’ register to be given to the election committee set up by MUSIGA and that is where the conflict of interest arises.

“He has an interest and if I were him, I would have stepped down for an interim management committee, comprising the arbitration committee and people from the creative arts to run the union.

“Once we are affiliated with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, they can bring us somebody from the National Commission on Culture or other entities to support the election,” he stated.

Ras Caleb said though he had been fighting for the right things to be done, he had rather been peddled as the black sheep of MUSIGA, stalling the group’s growth.

“I’m tired of being seen as the bad one because I’m fighting for the right things to be done. Besides, God has told me to let it go and allow them do what they want to do.

“It is up to the members to see the light and say that okay, even though these people are trying to manipulate things, we will vote as our hearts tell us,” he said.

Ras Caleb pointed out that he would start an official campaign tour in July but he was also doing his underground work to secure him the needed votes.

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