American Jazz Week Ends

An associate professor at the music department of the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. John Collins, says Ghana loses ?53 million yearly due to the non-exportation of traditional music. "This is due to lack of interest by government in traditional music for the past 20 years."

He said this during a lecture in Accra last Friday marking the end of the American Jazz week under the theme, "Imports and Sankofa", organised by the Public Affairs Section of the American Embassy and Bokoor African Popular Music Archives Foundation.

The lecture focused on the influence of Jamaican reggae and American disco, hot gospel and rap music on the Ghanaian music scene and the contemporary back to roots 'sankofa' trends. It also touched on the influence of national awareness, American Afro-centrism and Africanism.

Prof Collins said the traditional creativity that Ghana had in music has now shifted to Senegal and Mali and this is a great loss of a tourist attraction in Ghana. He asserted that most tourists are focusing on Senegal now because they have maintained their indigenous traditional music.

He appealed to the government to immediately set up a Ministry of Culture and Arts and to consider applying for a World Bank loan for arts and culture. "World Bank recognizes the sell of African traditional music and even the application of the loan will not disturb any development project of the government."

Prof. Collins also appealed for the removal of duty on music and said it should be treated as a non-traditional product.