Togbe Ghana
Reggae dancehall performer, David Kumordzie, better known by his stage name Togbe Ghana, has called on artistes to stand behind one another no matter where they are in the music business.
He claims that because of personal issues with artistes, some Ghanaians, including a segment of the music industry, do not support indigenous music.
However, he disclosed that the primary obstacle the Ghanaian music industry has is a lack of resources.
He stated that the absence of support from the government for the enactment of laws protecting artistes and the music industry is one of the main issues facing the sector.
Rather than funding music institutions, he asked the government to directly invest in performers.
He stated that the music industry requires investment in a number of areas, including building the necessary infrastructure, developing and resourcing the market, providing seed money to industry participants, growing our human resource base, and supplying the necessary technologies.
According to him, in order to make the music business in Ghana more profitable and appealing to outsiders, Ghanaians need to invest in it.
He went on to say that musicians are vital to the nation’s tourism industry and that more has to be done to promote their skills internationally.
He said that artistes are able to obtain the necessary international exposure when the government makes direct investments in them.
He also claimed that artistes are special individuals who have the power to further promote Ghana to the outside world, and that through seminars and workshops, the government should provide opportunities for the major actors to continuously increase their knowledge and capacity for improved performance.
He therefore, appealed to government to assist the music industry and its players with state-of-the-arts recording studio as well as theatres for their shows.
By George Clifford Owusu