Media personality and entertainment commentator MC Yaa Yeboah has voiced her frustration with Ghanaian political parties over their lack of support for the creative arts sector.
She specifically criticized the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) for presenting what she deems a weak manifesto, despite their access to industry data and financial benefits.
“What disappoints me most is the NPP, they are in power, they are privy to all the numbers and facts yet their manifesto is one of the weakest, They know how much they’ve gained from the various taxes and levies applied to the industry.
“The other political parties are on the outside, they don’t know what goes on inside. Yet, the NPP has the weakest manifesto,” she opined.
On September 9, 2024, during her appearance on United Showbiz, Yeboah expressed disappointment in the NPP for their failure to produce a strong manifesto, especially when they have the inside knowledge of the industry’s financial contributions through taxes and levies.
Yeboah also highlighted that both the NPP and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have similar, vague promises concerning the creative arts.
“We see a lot of entertainment shows discussing the manifestos but you can see that they have lost hope. Because the creative arts industry is one of the sectors that has been neglected for far too long.
“When you check back on some of the manifestos of these political parties that were read years ago, most of the promises that were made in those manifestos are still coming back. Meaning they were not fulfilled,” she said.
She argued that their commitments, whether related to building facilities or addressing royalties, lack specific details and timelines, making it hard to hold the parties accountable.
“All the manifestos that have been read. I see similarities among them, especially when it comes to the creative arts industry.
“The promises made towards the sector by both the NDC and the NPP, if you compare them, they are basically the same. Whether they’re about auditoriums, royalties, building studios etc. They are generic.
“They always give us vague promises, and none of these politicians are bold enough to give us timelines so we can hold them accountable,” she explained.
She noted that stakeholders in the creative industry have become disillusioned due to repeated unfulfilled promises from past manifestos.
Yeboah urged political parties to present concrete plans with clear timelines to make their promises more credible and actionable.
“We in the creative industry want these political parties to actually come up with programs and line-ups as to how they are going to fulfil these promises. Let us know if they are viable, else it’s just going to be a wishlist on paper,” she urged.
Watch video below:
NPP's manifesto for the creative industry is vague – MC Yaa Yeboah
— TIG Post (@tigpost_) September 9, 2024
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