Govt urged to facilitate establishment of National Music Council.

Ho, Jan. 24, GNA-The government has been urged to facilitate the formation of a National Music Council to "represent interests and disciplines, including musicians and technical people in the shortest possible time".

This was contained in a communiqu=E9 issued at the close of a workshop on Music in Poverty Reduction held in Ho under aegis of the Institute for Music and Development in collaboration with the French Embassy, Goethe Institute and the Ministry of Tourism and Modernization of the Capital City.

The communiqu=E9 also called on "music practitioners to support the effort to improve the quality of all Ghanaian musical forms, increase the earning capacities of all practitioners in the industry both formal and informal".

It said the music industry "should take advantage of the provisions in the new Copyright Law Act 690, that enhance the formation of different collection societies but also submit proposals for the review aspects of the law that are inimical to the interest of practitioners". The six-point communiqu=E9 proposed the reintroduction of music into the education curricula from the basic schools upwards and also called on the district assemblies or local communities to create opportunities for traditional musicians to transform their music into a viable commodity for both local and international markets and to project national identity.

The workshop approved the Human Resource Capacity building programme for the music industry to be delivered by the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration presented to it. The communiqu=E9 said the workshop arrived at its proposals after "having deliberated extensively on issues related to creating the appropriate legal and regulatory framework for the promotion and development of the Music Industry in Ghana".

The Institute for Music and Development, organizers of the workshop, is a Ho based Non-Governmental Organization with Professor Komla Amoaku, a retired lecturer as its Executive Director. The thrust of the Institute's work is to promote the growth and development of traditional music to save it from the avalanche of modern social norms and religious precepts that are threatening to liquidate local musical forms and styles.

The Institute and its works have been opposed by the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), whose President Alhaji Sidiku Buari slammed it and its programmes as sham.

He led scores of MUSIGA members on the streets of Ho to show their displeasure for the proposal for a wider body to fight for the interest of musicians.

Among participants at the three-day workshop were Professor J H Kwabena Nketia, International Centre For Music and Dance, University of Ghana, Mr Andrew Amagatse, a Legal Practitioner, Mr Carlos Sakyi, Composer, Mr Khodjo Aquai, Composer, Mr Faisal Helwani, Proprietor of Bibini Music, Mr Rex Omar and Amandzeba Nat Brew.