Obiba Sly Collins
Veteran highlife musician, Obiba Sly Collins, has called on the government and relevant stakeholders to develop a sustainable policy framework to recognize, promote and honour talents in various fields to enhance development.
The musician wants the government to recognize the contribution of local musicians to the national economy and support the music industry by channeling more resources into its development.
According Sly Collins, Ghana is blessed with rich talents, one of which is music, adding that a lot of our youths are fully engaged in this industry. According to Obiba Sly Collins, there is less recognition and support given to the musicians to further enhance their raw talents.
He mentioned that if the contribution of musicians and the music industry were captured, and government supported the industry, the country would raise big international stars.
He stated that if the creative industry in Ghana would gain recognition on the international scene then the government ought to put in place policies that would protect the works of its stakeholders to enable them generate revenue from their works.
“If the industry is fully supported and developed, it will be a good revenue earner for our country,” he declared.
The highlife musician said the music industry had a lot to offer to a developing country like Ghana and as such, every effort must be put in place to recognize this.
Sly indicated that it was unfortunate that in Ghana we always had to rely on cooperate organizations for support, which was not good enough, while in other countries on the continent it was the government that supported musicians.
He called on government to regard music as an important tool for promoting the country abroad; saying most western countries have made it because of the importance their governments attach to music.
Speaking in an interview with Dr. Cann Cann on Showbiz Xtra on Happy FM, Sly Collins pleaded that the government should pave way for musicians and should support them with links in countries that they went to perform in so that their work would be made easier.
He urged Ghanaian musicians to see marketing as an important part in their career, saying that without good managers to market their music, they cannot make it on the international market.
By George Clifford Owusu