SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT OF MUSIGA DURING ECOUNTER WITH THE PRESS AT AJUMAPA @ 1

Psalm 100 v 1 -3…Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness, come before his presence with singing, Know ye that it is the Lord who has made us and not us.

Distinguished guests, our friends from the media, Fellow musicians, on behalf of the entire leadership of the Union and on my own behalf, I wish to welcome you to the Musicians Union of Ghana and the first year in office of the AJUMAPA vision. I will like to particularly thank you for your dedicated support and commitment to issues concerning the musicians Union of Ghana and the entire Ghanaian Music industry. I very much appreciate that and hope we continue to bond in development.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I have humbly called for this Press briefing for three main reasons;

First is to honor my administrations promise of running transparent and accountable governance which I promised during my campaign to become president.

Second, is to share with Musicians and the entire Ghanaian community what has been done in terms of achievements over the past one year.

The third reason is double fold, and it is to roll out our plans for the coming year, solicit your support and to create a platform for scrutiny by availing myself for any questions bothering your mind regarding my administration.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, a year ago in the northern regional capital of Tamale on the 18th August 2011 delegates of the Union reposed confidence in me by voting me as President. It was a keenly contested election which was a good sign a union that believes in democratic processes of choosing their leaders.

I am particularly grateful to all those who believed in me as the youngest individual to lead the Musicians Union of Ghana as a President. I am also grateful to the team that I have been privileged to work with both at the National and regional levels, without who today's meeting, would have nothing to report on. I also want to particularly thank those who contested me for the support they are giving to this administration. God bless you all.

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I am happy to share with you what has transpired over the past year. Ascending to the high office of President was both a joy for me but a challenge as well, a challenge to deliver on the promises made and a challenge not to let my union down. These challenges have been the quiet still voice that prompts me and keeps me on my toes. Together with my executives, our first concern was to rebrand the Union to become attractive enough to draw the needed attention and clout.

The AJUMAPA manifesto promised transparent and accountable governance, creation of jobs, and promotion of unity and enhancement of the music business. Other objectives of the AJUMAPA vision include pushing for appropriate policies and care for the Aged Musicians.

Although so much has transpired, I will simply summarize some of the key activities as an expanded version is available in our published annual report which covers September 2011 –September 2012.

An interim financial report has been included with the view that a complete financial position will be made available at the end of our fiscal year – December 31st.

SUMMARIZED ACTIVITIES
(a) Union led activities (provide details)
• Membership Drive campaign & New Membership Card Launch

• Tolerance Campaign & Peace song compilations
• Regional Elections & Artistes Development For a
• Demo collections – MTN HITZ Makers
• Music Industry Research Project (details under achievement)

• Launching of New Website& Digital Portal
(b) Partnership Activities (provide details)
• Ghana Music Awards
• Digital Library Project
• ICT Resource Centre establishment
• Supply of Computers to regional offices
(c) On - going Projects (give details)
• Ghana Music Week celebrations
• National Tolerance campaign for peace
• MUSIGA TV
• MUSIGA & Midland AJUMAPA Credit Facility
• Musiga Head office renovation
(d) Achievements
(a) GH2.0 million Government Budget allocation
i. Undertake research to establish the economic and social contributions of Music to the National economy,

ii. Create a baseline data to inform future data collection on the sector,

iii. Produce evidence based data to inform policy making,

iv. Develop a four year strategic plan to grow the music sector,

v. Build the capacities of selected Music and other selected membership based creative sector institutions, organize Ghana Music fair ( a week long music festival & exhibitions),

vi. Acquire musical instruments for selected regions for the creation and promotion of jobs and income opportunities for musicians,

vii. Establish a welfare Seed fund to cater for the Aged and Needy musicians,

viii. Promote Peace, Unity and Tolerance among Ghanaians through series of events and media campaigns.

• $100,000 donation from Dr. Kofi Amoah to MUSIGA.

• A twinning agreement was signed between the MUSIGA and British Musicians Union (BMU).

• MUSIGA was elected to be one of the eighteen member FIM Executive Committee, the highest decision making body after congress.

• The Union was admitted into the International Music Council (IMC) in the category of National and specialized organizations.

e. Welfare
• Welfare Policy
• Welfare Bus
• Tribute To The Late President: Prof. John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills (song)

• Support to some aged Musicians
f. Challenges
• Absence of a Collective Bargaining Certificate to enable the Union negotiates binding collective agreements with employers of our members.

• Inadequate professional support due to lack of funding to remunerate such professionals

• Weak coordination between sector Ministries, Departments & Agencies (MDA's) and the industry.

• Absence of standard/certification industry specific competence based training outfits to train the man power requirement to feed the industry.

(g) Conclusion
Finally I will urge our members to utilize the ICT Resource Centre, the rehearsal studio here and also bring their works to be added to the digital library so that they can take advantage of our digital portal when it is fully operational. Having your works in our digital library will also enable us monitor the use of your works through the Collective management organization. The welfare Bus of the Union is equally available for members to use at a discount rate.

I and my Executives will pursue the AJUMAPA vision and continue to work assiduously to achieve the very promise we made to our members and our dear Nation to work towards improving the livelihood of members through sustainable job creation.

As we approach the 2012 elections, we encourage musicians to use their talents and skills to promote Peace, Unity and tolerance before, during and after December 7th.2012.

Let me at this time extend a hand of invitation to all individuals and organizations to join us in the forward march towards the growth of the Music Industry in Ghana.

I am grateful to all of you especially the reliable working team at the Union Head Office and the Regional Levels without whom the enumerated achievements would have been impossible.

May we all continue to work selflessly for the good of the Union and Mother Ghana. God bless you and thank You.