Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi
A presidential aspirant of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi, has expressed satisfaction with government’s negotiations to settle the long-standing internal rift that has put the activities of the union on hold for almost two years.
Speaking in an interview with CTV, Ras Caleb said he was happy because “a consensus has been reached now as regards the reforms I was championing.”
He filed a lawsuit against the union’s election after Bice Osei Kufour, popularly known as Obour, left office in 2019.
Ras Caleb got the court to place an injunction on the election because, according to him, things were done contrary to the union’s constitution.
He explained that “in the conduct of elections, our constitution guides us. We adopted a constitution in 2018. We were supposed to use it in 2019 but we did not use that one. Instead, the 2015 constitution was used and even with that, they massaged a portion of it. It is not acceptable.”
He also noted that “the way the election committee was set up is also wrong.” Also, he complained that the register for the election was bloated.
Ras Caleb, who has been a member of MUSIGA since 1982, stressed the need to address the anomalies before conducting a fresh poll.
“I’m an aspirant. I’m going to lead a union, so, if I see those loopholes, I won’t say because I want to be MUSIGA president, ‘do [and] let me just pass through the system’,” he indicated.
According to Ras Caleb, the electoral anomalies mostly created during Obour’s tenure have created problems for his executive members.
He further expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr. Mohammed Awal, and deputy minister-designate Mark Okraku-Mantey for intervening in the impasse.
He noted that all the issues have been resolved but not conclusively.
After a series of meetings with the parties involved in the protracted tussle, Mr. Okraku-Mantey indicated that a consensus had been reached.
He noted that the “members agreed to put aside their differences and tabled modalities ahead of the election.”
Present at the meeting apart from Ras Caleb, were Bessa Simons, Diana Hopeson, Kingsley Amoakwah, Perppy Tsahay, Deborah Freeman, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, and Gertrude Boamah.
In view of this, the leadership of MUSIGA is expected to announce a date for the election soon.