The Ghana Actors Guild in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts supported by the Ghana Culture Forum has held a General Assembly to discuss issues concerning the industry.
Members of the Ghana Actors Guild are pushing MPs to pass the Creative Arts Bill to help address some of the external problems they are facing. They are worried about foreigners taking over the sale of CDs from Ghanaians as well as the rise in piracy. They are asking leadership to also help the Guild to address the numerous challenges confronting the industry, including internal wrangling, lack of infrastructure and a constitution to govern the organization.
The Guild also wants to rebrand, restructure and reposition to build a stronger and a united front. According to the General Secretary of GAG, Emmanuel Ziggy Netteyson, rebranding GAG will attract more people to join.
“There is a school of thought that if we rebrand it will attract other concerned actors who are sitting on the fence,” he said while lamenting over the laidback attitude of some actors, especially the known faces.
“Until someone needs something urgent, he or she will never visit the office, especially recommendation for a Visa, a passport or something, he or she will never visit the office, meetings we will never come.”
Meanwhile, government has plans of projecting the Creative Arts Industry to be more active and attractive. Officials at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, have indicated their efforts to speed up the Creative Arts Bill which has gone through various stages for the past two years.
The Bill will regulate and address issues of foreigners taking over the market, piracy, among other issues. That Chief Director at the Ministry, Dr Nana Bright Oduro-Kwateng assured that the Bill will go a long way to help address their problems.
“We have come up with a draft Bill, it has been approved by cabinet, it has gone to Attorney General and it is yet to go to Parliament. The Idea is that the creative Arts will also have a Law which will be a legitimate framework for them so that we can have what we call the Creative Arts Secretariat and also a creative Arts fund that will nurture the industry”.
