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| Campaign Songs Must Enrich Political Process - Veep |
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| Posted on: 2008-May-08 Times |
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THE Vice President, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has called on musicians in the country to endeavour to compose songs and jingles that will enrich the political process during the campaigns for the forthcoming election.
He said in their effort to compose either songs or jingles to market the programmes and manifestoes of the various political parties, they must be guided by the need to foster unity in the country.
Alhaji Mahama, made the call in Accra yesterday, when he opened a GH¢89,200 building which will serve as the office of the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA).
He said music as the medium in contemporary setting should be used as a tool to draw attention of policy makers, politicians, civil society groups and the entire citizenry to critical social challenges in a non-partisan way.
Alhaji Mahama said the profit motive of the musicians for composing political songs and jingles in this election year should be secondary to the patriotic call for stability.
He observed that creative works have created job avenues for many people and expressed the government’s appreciation for that sector.
He said it was in recognition of the musical artistes’ role in employment generation that the government in 2005 waived the tax on some musical instruments.
Additionally, the Copyright Act 2005 (Act 690) was passed to ensure adequate protection of the musician’s works.
He said the government was in the process of approving a number of regulations for the smooth administration of copyright, stressing that intellectual property right was increasingly becoming a major issue in international trade, especially in this 21st century.
Alhaji Mahama also noted that the high incidence of counterfeiting and piracy had led to the loss of jobs and deprived artistes from enjoying the full benefits of their labour.
He urged musicians to cooperate with the security and other regulatory agencies to ensure that what is due them was not lost through piracy.
He also called on musicians to do more by composing songs on issues such as drug trafficking and armed robbery which posed a threat to the country’s democratic order.
The Board Chairman of COSGA, Alhaji Sidiku Buari, said the building project which was started in 1996 could not be continued because of lack of funds.
He expressed gratitude to the government for the passage of the Copyright law and stressed the need for the speedy approval of other regulations that would curtail the rate of piracy in the industry.
Alhaji Buari called for unity in COSGA and said that would help them to maximise the collection of royalties for the benefit of right holders.
Professor George Hagan, Chairman of the National Commission on Culture, who chaired the function, commended all those who helped in diverse ways to ensure the successful completion of the project.
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