Some of the participants at the conference
General Secretary of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Deborah Freeman, has announced that the union has set June 28, 2019 as the date for its national elections and October 25, 2019 for its regional elections.
The national elections will elect a new president and national executives for the union after the term of the current executives under the leadership of Bice Osei Kuffour (Obour), which ends in May 2019.
This was made known at the union’s first biennial conference held during the weekend at Samrit Hotel in Cape Coast.
The conference, which was attended by the national and regional executives of the union from all the 10 regions, was under the theme: ‘Building A Vibrant Union For National Development’.
Ms. Freeman added that the conference will be held in Accra on June 25, 2020.
Addressing participants at the conference, the Central Regional Minister, Kwamena Duncan, who was the guest of honour, congratulated the union for successfully holding its first biennial conference.
He said music has been an important part of “our cultural setting and we cannot do without music.”
Mr. Duncan added that music serves as a life lesson by telling people the dos and don’ts of the society.
On his part, MUSIGA’s President, Bice Osei Kuffour, called on government to reintroduce “music education into our basic school curriculum to ensure our youth enjoy the benefits of pedagogy and also create jobs for the teeming number of musicians with teaching skills.”
He also called on government to make the KPMG’s comprehensive study on the music sector a focal point of its interventions in the music sector.
The Deputy Secretary General of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), Joshua Ansah, said the informal sector of the economy has a huge impact on national development and musicians play a crucial in it.
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts & Culture, Ghana Culture Forum (GCF), Creative Arts Council and Samrit Hotel sponsored the conference.