Unlike Nigeria, Ghana deepens sector growth with Creative Arts Industry Bill
In the last couple of years, the Federal Government had been working on a number of policies to step up activities within the Nollywood and other aspects of creative industry, but without any form of enabling legislation.
Only last month, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in partnership with Bankers’ Committee moved to redevelop the National Art Theatre, Iganmu in Lagos with the aim of providing industry reviving loan scheme for film producers and stakeholders.
However, fact checks showed that there had not been any form of enabling law targeting the structured development of the sector, but a number of policies that lacked enabling provisions.
Whereas analysts traced the current unreliable support schemes introduced by the Federal Government in the last couple of years to lack of enabling statutory instruments, the Government of Ghana seems to be having a more credible strategy in the development and support for the growth of the creativity sector.
Giving insights on the Creative Arts Industry Bill, currently at the Ghana Parliament, Ghanaian Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, told Business Hilights Ghana Bureau chief in Accra, that “The Creative Arts Industry Bill was at the Cabinet level for consideration, and upon passage into law would, among other things, establish the Creative Arts Fund and an Agency to promote tourism’s contributions to national development.”
He underlined the need for all stakeholders to work towards improving the tourism industry in Africa and empower women’s participation in the tourism sector for sustainable development.
Dr Bawumia averred that it was imperative to improve on the timely collection, analysis and dissemination of tourism data in order to inform strategic decision making for all stakeholders in the sector.
“I indulge all of you to contribute generously to improve the industry and empower women in tourism for sustainable development and to improve the living standard of our people.
According to him, “We should promote our local content in all the sectors of the regional economy giving the enormous resources that have gone into developing human capital in our countries.”
Corroborating the Vice President position, Mrs Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in her welcome remarks, said the tourism, arts and culture sector was contributing significantly towards the economies of both developed and developing countries.
She argued that “Tourism had become a global competitive industry and being the fourth foreign exchange earner for the nation, contributing about three million dollars annually.”
