The race for positions in the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) national executive gathered some momemtum after the aspirants were vetted by a five-member panel at the MUSIGA head office in Accra.
It was a very friendly atmosphere as the aspirants laughed with each other as they waited their turns to face the panel that comprised Alhaji Sidiku Buari; Paapa Yankson; Mary Ghansah; Kwabena Agyeman of the Ghana Association of Phonographic Industries (GAPI) and Ebo Hawkson.
Representatives of the Ministry of Culture and Chieftaincy, National Commission on Culture, Copyright Office, Veteran Musicians Association of Ghana, Ghana Actors Guild and COSGA were there as observers.
Two of the aspirants: K.K. Kabobo and Charles Anaman were absent during the vetting and have therefore been disqualified from standing for the positions of 2nd Vice President and Treasurer respectively.
Criteria set for the vetting by the panel required that aspirants must be sane, have no criminal record, be a paid-up member, be literate in English and should have a minimum of six months continuous membership. For the presidency, the applicant must have held an executive office, represented the union at committee level or at any official fora.
The four persons vetted for the presidency were Gyedu Blay Ambolley, James Kweku Tuffuor, known widely as Nana Tuffuor, Willi Roi and Bice Osei-Kufuor, popularly referred to as Obuor.
Others vetted for other positions were: 1st Vice President: Amandzeba and Kaakyire Kwame Appiah. 2nd Vice President: Bessa Simmons and C.K. Morisson. General Secretary: Deborah Freeman and Ernest Kwesi Ennin and Organiser: Godfred Mark Hansen and Chizzy Wailer. John Victor Owusu and Oheneba Kissi are unopposed for the positions of Welfare Officer and Treasurer respectively.
MUSIGA president, Diana Hopeson said one of the observations that came up after the vetting was that most of the aspirants were not familiar with the history of the union.
'It was resolved that a workshop to rectify that should be held for the new executive soon after they take office,' she stated.
'It was also suggested that a certain minimum mark be set at future vetting sessions so that aspirants who do not make the mark are disqualified.'
Another observation made, she indicated, was that immediate past MUSIGA presidents be made ex-officio members of the national executive. She however added that such a decision could only be taken at national congress but could not tell if the upcoming one at Tamale would discuss that.
The election of a new national executive will be one of the key actions to be taken at the congress to come off from August 16 to August 18. It will attract 130 delegates and 20 observers.
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