Richie Mensah urges creatives to prove their value
Ghanaian music producer and executive Richie Mensah has criticised the Ghana’s creative industry for not doing enough to attract government support.
According to him, he believes that until the sector proves its economic value, it should not expect any serious investment from the government.
Speaking in an interview on Joy FM, Richie said the creative industry needs to stop waiting on the government or associations and instead focus on individual efforts that show real value.
“I say all the time that leave government alone, leave associations alone. Leave everybody alone and do what you can do. He who embarks on a worthy cause deserves a push,” he said.
Richie explained that while he has faced many challenges in his career, he has also received support, but only after showing that he was worth investing in.
“As much as I have had a lot of challenges, I have also had a lot of support. But every support I have received in my life has been earned. I wasn’t given the support in a vacuum. I was given the support because I proved that if you support me, it’s worth your time and money,” he explained.
According to him, the main reason the government continues to overlook the creative arts is because the industry has not demonstrated that it can bring in economic returns.
“The reason government won’t support creative arts is because it’s not worth their time. Let’s be very honest. You have artistes and media people standing there talking about ‘do this for me, do this for us, we deserve this, we are so entitled’, stop talking,” he said.
GhanaWeb Special: The gold market that fuels galamsey
How social engineering hacks your mind and your bank account
AK/MA
