The Foundation of Concerned Arts Professionals (FOCAP), a pressure and advocacy group, has spent the past year closely observing the Mahama administration. After twelve months in office, we believe it is only fair to present an annual assessment of government performance, particularly in relation to the Creative Arts Sector.

To begin, FOCAP commends President Mahama and the Minister for Finance for the relative stability and improvement of the economy. The strengthening of the cedi has had a positive impact on creatives, especially those who rely on dollar-denominated online subscriptions and digital platforms. This relief is acknowledged and appreciated, and we hope the cedi continues this upward trajectory.

That said, economic gains alone were not the reason creatives overwhelmingly voted for this government. The Creative Arts Sector voted based on clear, documented promises contained in the NDC’s official manifesto, and it is against this document that we must now assess performance.

Over the past one year, the administration executed several interventions, which we believe are Achievements:

Ghana’s National Theatre in Accra is scheduled for a major refurbishment starting in 2026, which we believe is a major milestone since it has been long overdue.

Funding was secured in 2025, with the Chinese government committing 30 million dollars for the project, with the Ghanaian government also allocating funds in the 2026 budget.

In 2025, the John Dramani Mahama-led government appointed the first-ever Executive Secretary for the Creative Arts Agency (CAA) as well as the board members since Act 1048 was gazetted. The erstwhile NPP government failed to appoint an executive secretary and a board, and rather, the President’s daughter, Gyankroma Akuffo Addo, illegally occupied the position.

Ghs20 million allocated in the 2026 budget as seed capital to support various creative industries and their value chain. This is a promise President John Dramani Mahama made in 2025 when he met the press at Jubilee House.

Under the NDC and John Dramani Mahama government, they appointed more creatives into governance to play critical roles, and we believe this is very commendable.  The President, in his 120 days, promised and delivered the launch of Black Star Experience, which is the banner of the creative, tourism, and cultural manifesto of the NDC.

In 2025, Ghana’s fashion contributed about $2.42 billion to the national economy, according to the minister for tourism, culture, and creative arts.

A listening government: FOCAP raised issues of the Creative Arts Agency website, which was directed to a private website, and it was fixed to bring stability and discipline within the agency.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr Frank Amoakohene, actively started working to revive the Kumawood film industry, which faced struggles, by establishing a ministerial committee to revive the industry.  A 17-member committee was established in 2025. This has led to the formation of the Kumawood Ashanti Film Association.

GTDC launched Accra by Night, a popular government-backed night tour initiative offering an immersive experience of a tour of Ghana’s capital, highlighting culture and history.

Establishment of a Black Star Experience (BSE) office to serve as Ghana’s leading brand in culture, Arts, Tourism and creative engagement, bridging local and international audiences.

These are the achievements of the John Dramani Mahama-led administration over the one year they have been in office.

As we mentioned earlier, the Creative Arts Sector voted based on clear, documented promises contained in the NDC’s official manifesto, and it is against this document that we must now assess performance. We understand that a manifesto promise is scheduled to be achieved over the term of the administration, but as we say in the Ghanaian parlance, Agoro bɛso a, ɛfiri anɔpa! Literally: If the festival or carnival or party is entertaining, it starts in the morning.

The Black Star Experience: Promises vs. Reality

Under the Black Star Experience, the government promised the rollout of the following flagship programmes:

1. Pan-African Month celebrates heritage, history, and diaspora engagement
2. Ghana Film Festival and Awards Month
3. Ghana Music World
4. Culinary Month
5. Architecture, Design, Arts and Crafts Month
6. Fashion and Textiles Month
7. Literacy/Literary Month

FOCAP states categorically that none of these initiatives were delivered or began within the first year of the administration. This is deeply disappointing. The only related activity, Taste the Culture, left much to be desired, and FOCAP has chosen, for now, to withhold comment on its execution.

Other Manifesto Promises

The second set of commitments included pledges to:

1. Support young digital content creators to promote Ghanaian culture
2. Revive the Creative Arts Fund to provide sustainable financial support for start-ups and struggling creative enterprises
3. Review and strictly enforce broadcasting, digital media, and local content provisions
4. Strengthen copyright administration and improve royalty collection and management
5. Partner with the private sector to build an ultra-modern recreation village with auditoriums for films, concerts, and special events

Again, none of these promises were executed, or they began within the first year. This raises serious concerns about whether the Creative Arts Sector is being treated with the urgency and seriousness afforded to other sectors of the economy.

Indeed, all notable successes recorded in the sector over the past year were driven largely by individual artists, their management teams, and a handful of private sector sponsors, not by deliberate government intervention.

This is particularly troubling given that key appointments have already been made. The Creative Arts Agency now has a substantive board and an Executive Secretary, yet its core mandate, especially the registration of creative enterprises, has been neglected. Instead, the agency appears preoccupied with activities far removed from its primary responsibilities.

The government also pledged to support GHAMRO, yet ironically, GHAMRO recorded one of its lowest distributions in December.

FOCAP is fully aware of the immense job-creation potential of the Creative Arts Sector and believes the President himself understands this reality. We therefore appeal directly to H.E. John Dramani Mahama and the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture to take a personal and serious interest in the sector in the administration’s second year.

Additionally, the much-publicised promise of a new theatre in the Ashanti Region remains unfulfilled, with reports indicating that land for the project has not even been secured.

Indeed, under the one year of John Dramani Mahama, the creative sector never experienced any of these major achievements as espoused in their manifesto.   FOCAP, we believe, this did not mark a good year for the government within the creative arts sector.

The manifesto outlined some low-hanging fruit that FOCAP believed should have taken off by now

1- local content creation initiatives to drive job opportunities

2- Collection management system or copyright and royalties in Ghana.

3-“Digital content creators, especially the young, to develop content that promotes Ghanaian culture

4- Introduce tax breaks for Creative Arts Artists who have tax identification numbers (TIN).

5- Annual stakeholder dialogue with people in the creative arts industry.

6- Special events channel for the Creative Arts programs on digital terrestrial television (DTT) with pay-per-view technology to encourage content development.

7- Special rates to be given at cultural events at the Blackstar Square, Accra International Conference Centre

and other venues owned by the government.

These are some low-hanging fruits we expected the government to act on in its first year, but little or zero was done.

We hope the government will speed up through its agencies and ministries to take action on their tangible blackstar manifesto.

FOCAP, as an advocacy and pressure group, has its eagle eyes open to see and equally help grow the Orange Economy to see its full potential.

FOCAP will, as always, keep a close and watchful eye on this administration, continually reminding it of the promises made to the Creative Arts Sector. We expect measurable progress in the second year because the first year’s performance was not as expected.

Assessment of the Sector Minister’s performance will be addressed separately to avoid conflating issues.

In the midst of a renewed national conversation about the role of institutional support in Ghana’s creative economy, Mel Kwesi Davis, Vice President, Administration of the Foundation of Concerned Arts Professionals (FOCAP), has once again sounded a clarion call for the Creative Arts Agency to move beyond rhetoric and begin working meaningfully in the interest of creatives across the country.

At the Advocacy’s press conference on the one year score-card for President Mahama’s administration of the creative Arts sector held on Friday 9th January, 2026, Mel Kwesi Davis advised the current administration of the Creative Arts Agency to work in the interest of Creatives and provide data that can be used to seek funding and further asked the Executive Secretary, Mr Gideon Ayerquaye, to take this exercise very seriously in 2026 instead of organising walks, funerals, Vigils and eating wakye as he did in 2025.

While the Creative Arts Agency was established by Parliament under the Creative Arts Industry Act, 2020 (Act 1048) to provide an institutional framework for the development and management of Ghana’s arts industry, many stakeholders believe the body has struggled to fulfil its mandate since its operationalisation. A wave of recruitment and structural groundwork, such as the posting of new staff, has helped lay the foundation for the Agency’s work, but critics argue that much more needs to be done before the institution truly benefits everyday creatives.

The responsibility of the Creative Arts Agency is to work in the interest of the Creative Industry and not meant to organise funerals, Vigils, health walks and wakye parties, he stated.

Davis’s remarks, which have circulated widely among industry networks, underscore a broader sentiment shared by artists, cultural practitioners, and industry advocates: the Creative Arts Agency must be proactive, transparent and accountable in its approach to supporting Ghana’s creative workforce. According to public posts attributed to him, Davis has encouraged all stakeholders, from policymakers to performers and producers, to coalesce around reforms that prioritise the well-being of creatives and ensure that institutional structures work with artists rather than merely for them.

He has repeatedly emphasised that real, systemic impact rather than symbolic gestures is what Ghana’s creative industry needs. Such impact includes clear programming, data, predictable funding mechanisms, artist support services, mentorship frameworks and collaborative partnerships that move beyond short-term events or surface-level engagements.

FOCAP at a press conference held on the 9th of January 2026 urged the Creatives Arts Agency to Register its members as stipulated in the law.

Vice President- Administrator of FOCAP Mr Mel Kwesi Davis said without data you cannot approach any authority to argue your case for funds for the Agency and asked the Executive Secretary Mr Gideon Ayerquaye to take this exercise very seriously in 2026 instead of organising walks and eating wakye like he did in 2025.

The responsibility of the Creative Arts Agency is to work in the interest of the Creative Industry and not meant to organize funerals, Vigils, health walk and wakye parties.

FOCAP in conclusion promised to keep an eye on the Creative Arts Agency and update the industry on every move the Agency takes.