Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, the flagbearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the Vice President of Ghana, has announced plans to give tax rebates to some creatives if he is voted into power as President of the country.

“Tax incentives will also be provided for film producers and musicians,” he said during a public lecture held at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA) in Accra on February 7, 2024.

The lecture dubbed 'Ghana’s Next Chapter: Selfless Leadership and Bold Solutions for the Future' highlighted what Dr. Bawumia seeks to do if he is given the nod to steer the affairs of the nation.

He also promised to create digital platforms for Ghanaian artists.

“We will introduce other initiatives such as digital and streaming platforms for our artists to make tourism and the creative arts a growth pole in Ghana,” he said.

This particular provision was made in 2020 Manifesto of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) on the creative industry.

“We will build a digital platform for artists to make their products available to the global market,” the NPP stated.

During his lecture, another promise Dr. Bawumia made was to build on the Year of Return, Beyond the Return, December in Ghana.

Finally, he said “to boost tourism and job creation, my government will implement an e-visa policy for all international visitors to Ghana to enable visas to be obtained in minutes subject to security and criminal checks."

NPP's unfulfilled promises on the arts and culture

The New Patriotic Party (NPP), has come under serious scrutiny by the creative industry stakeholders for reneging on a number of its promises.

Some of the NPP's unfulfilled promises are the setting up of the Creative Arts Fund to support artists, and the construction of theatres in Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale.

The NPP also promised that "given that our artistes do not have the capital to set up studios, we will, as part of the entrepreneurial hub’s strategy, establish, in partnership with the private sector, large recording studios in Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Takoradi. Recording artists can rent space to do the recordings in these studios. This promise has also not been fulfilled.

Finally, the construction of a convention and exhibition centre at the Ghana Trade Fair Company site, La has not been completed.