Ghanaian broadcaster Paul Adom-Otchere has suggested that Ghana must fundamentally rethink how it approaches the creative arts industry for national development.
Speaking on Prime Time with George Quaye on Joy Prime, he highlighted the economic importance of the cultural and creative industries.
“People have not really connected the fact that arts is a multi billion dollar business.
I was excited with the Year of Return but I really hope that we are going to get a government one day who really understands that arts is as important as cocoa. The arts is as important as gold. The music industry is as important as anything else,” he said.
He added that production is key in growing theatre in Ghana. Without consistent and structured production, the creative industry cannot grow.
“Recently, I was speaking with the guys who did ‘I Told You So’. And I was telling them that we should have productions in Ghana every weekend. ‘The Lion King’ shows in London every day. Umoja used to show in Johannesburg every day,” he said.
Asked why he did not lobby to occupy a position in the arts sector when his party, the New Patriotic Party was in power, he said he did not he fit the role.
“I don’t feel myself competent as a administrator of the arts. I don’t think I know enough to be an administrator in the area of the arts. But if I have the opportunity, I will give the arts my support,” he said.
He even noted that he once lobbied for George Andah to be Minister of Tourism but people did not buy into his idea because most of them did not see tourism as business.
Finally, he said the solution to a lot of the creative industry’s problems is curating content television in a digitised manner that will be accessible to the Ghanaian
