Tony D
The Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) is now set to hold its national and regional elections on August 8 after a long delay and the Volta Regional Chairman, Anthony Komla Dagbey, better known as Tony D, is going unopposed.
He came to office in 2016. At that time, he promised to “work diligently with the rest of the new executive body to ensure that musicians in the region get their due recognition to help raise the image of music and MUSIGA.”
Speaking ahead of the upcoming elections, Tony D has pointed out that despite some challenges, his reign has yielded positive outcomes which would be built on during his next four-year term in office.
He said Volta Region MUSIGA didn’t have any location that could be described as its office for decades until he came on the scene and reasoned with the Centre for National Culture (CNC) in the region to allocate them some space at its premises.
“We have refurbished the space at CNC, put in the basic necessities for it to function and we now have a fairly presentable place to work from,” Tony D stated.
Realising the Volta MUSIGA branch needed to spot and groom new talents, it has so far put out two albums of material by members to enable it generate funds to buy some instruments and organise programmes to generate income.
There is still a long way to go before all that materialises fully, but Tony D says he’s still committed to working in the interest of MUSIGA and musicians in the region.
“I have used my Tosh TV and Tosh FM stations to enhance MUSIGA activities as well as social cohesion events involving the union. I know there are some underhand dealings by some disgruntled members to cause unnecessary division, but the majority is standing firmly together under my leadership to ensure progress on the Volta music front,” Tony D said.
He revealed that a plot of land donated to the union by Adonai Estates in Ho during one of its album launches is secure and he would push for the union to build its own permanent office there during his next term in office.
“My appeal to MUSIGA members in the region is that they must check on their status and pay up the required dues to enable them vote on August 8 since only registered, paid-up members can vote on the day.
“My other advice is for musicians in the region to also develop alternate means of income so they don’t always have to look elsewhere for support. Many of the acts we regard as the topmost in this country all have other things they do to earn some income so they can have peace of mind to concentrate on creating music,” the regional MUSIGA Chairman said.
On the national front, Bessa Simons, Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi and Deborah Freeman are competing to be President of MUSIGA.
By George Clifford Owusu