Ras Caleb commends govt's move to resolve MUSIGA impasse

A presidential aspirant of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi has expressed satisfaction with the arbitration process to settle the long-standing conflict.

He told Kojo Preko Dankwa on CTV’s ‘The Showbiz’ on 21 May 2021 that he was happy because “a consensus has been reached now as regards the reforms I was championing”.

He filed a lawsuit against the union’s elections after Bice Osei Kufour, popularly known as Obour left office in 2019.

Ras Caleb got the court to place injunction on the elections because according to him, things were done contrary to its constitution.

He explained that “in the conduct of elections, our constitution guides us. We adopted a constitution in 20218. We were supposed to use it in 2019 but we did not use that one. Instead, the 2015 constitution was used and even that, they massaged a portion of it. It is not acceptable”.

He also noted that “the way the election committee was set up is also wrong” while citing a bloated voter register.

The ‘Anas’ of MUSIGA, who has been a member since 1982, therefore stresses the need to address the election anomalies before conducting fresh elections.

“I'm an aspirant. I'm going to lead a union so if I see those loopholes, I won't say because I want to be MUSIGA president do let me just pass through the system,” he indicated.

According to Ras Caleb, the election anomalies mostly created during Obour's tenure as president has created problems for his executive members.

He further expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Dr Mohammed Awal and deputy minister-designate, Mark Okraku-Mantey for intervening in the MUSIGA impasse.

He noted that all the issues have been resolved but not concluded yet.

The minister-designate for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, after a series of meetings with parties involved in the long-standing internal Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) legal tussle, indicated that a consensus has been reached.

He noted that “members agreed to put aside their differences and tabled modalities ahead of the election”.

Present at a meeting where the parties resolve their feud were Bessa Simons, Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi, Diana Hopeson, Lawyer Kingsley Amoakwah, Perppy Tsahay, Deborah Freeman, Ahuma Bosco Ocansey, and Getrude Boamah.

In view of this, the leadership of MUSIGA is expected to announce the date for their election soon.