Kojo Preko Dankwa Says There’s Nothing to Show After 18 Months in Government

President of the Foundation of Concerned Arts Professionals (FOCAP), Kojo Preko Dankwa, has criticised the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, saying the government has little to show for its first 18 months in office despite making several promises to the creative arts sector.

Speaking in an interview on Peace FM’s entertainment Review hosted by Ola Michael, Kojo Preko Dankwa questioned the progress made on key infrastructure projects promised in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto, particularly the construction and rehabilitation of theatres and cultural centres.

According to him, one of the major concerns is the lack of updates on theatre projects that were already underway before the previous government left office.

“What is even the update on the theatres the previous government was working on before it left office? The theatres have gathered dust. Nobody has told us anything. There has been no communication on what is happening,” he said.

He noted that although the current government’s manifesto promised to construct new theatres and rehabilitate existing ones, there has been no visible evidence that those commitments are being implemented.

Kojo Preko pointed specifically to the proposed theatre for the Ashanti Region, saying there has been no indication of where it will be built or when work will begin.

“Their own manifesto talked about building new theatres and rehabilitating existing national cultural centres. After one and a half years, there is nowhere showing where the Ashanti Region theatre will be built. What are we waiting for?” he asked.

The FOCAP President also criticised what he described as the government’s reliance on committees without producing tangible results.

According to him, several committees have been established since the administration assumed office, yet the industry has seen very little action.

“Too many committees have been set up. Some of the committees even conflict with each other, but we don’t see anything happening. I see that as a problem.”

He appealed to the ministry to become more proactive in addressing the challenges facing Ghana’s creative industry.

“We are pleading with them to be on their toes. We already know the problems. Solve them for us. Gather the stakeholders, bring everyone together and deal with the issues.”

Despite his criticisms, Kojo Preko commended the Minister’s decision to establish the Black Star Experience Secretariat, describing it as a strategic initiative.

He explained that the office was expected to coordinate the implementation of the government’s creative arts and tourism agenda as outlined in the NDC manifesto.

“The Black Star Experience was strategic because it was supposed to coordinate everything that was promised in the manifesto.”

However, he questioned whether the secretariat was effectively carrying out that responsibility.

“If that office is really coordinating what they said they would do, then we should be seeing visible results. If they are not coordinating, then there is a problem.”

Kojo Preko further expressed disappointment over what he described as the ministry’s limited engagement with industry stakeholders.

According to him, since the government assumed office about 18 months ago, there has not been a comprehensive stakeholders’ meeting or a press conference to brief the creative arts community on ongoing projects, future plans or implementation timelines.

“There have been no stakeholders’ meetings. For one and a half years, there hasn’t been any press conference to tell us what lies ahead. If we have all these problems and we don’t work on them, then it is bad.”