Former Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has reacted to claims made by Juliet Asante, the former Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), regarding her experience while serving in government.
It could be recalled that in March 2025, Juliet Asante, in a Facebook post, opened up about the challenges she faced at the NFA, including alleged sexual harassment, non-payment of salaries and bureaucratic difficulties.
However, speaking in an interview with Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM, Okraku-Mantey expressed surprise at the timing of Miss Asante’s allegations, questioning why she chose to make such statements when the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is actively campaigning for re-election.
“It was unfortunate. But for me, my question was, ‘Why now? Would it solve a problem if you came and told the whole world?’ At the time that our party needed stories to make us look ‘sexy,’ that’s the time you decided to come and say this about our government or party?” he said.
While Okraku-Mantey acknowledged that it is “possible” she faced some turbulence in her role, he described it as ‘common’ in the early days of any new government initiative.
“It is possible that, yes, she went through some turbulence in the beginning. It is possible because it is normal with government structure that when you are starting something, and sometimes I take pride in it when I struggle in the beginning with some of these things, the creative arts council, we also didn’t take salaries. Occasionally, we were given allowances. But we didn’t take salaries.
“Even Rex Omar, who is now heading the Blackstar Experience, is also going through his turbulence. He might not tell you now, but it is there because the government structure, compared to the private sector, is slow. So what about a very new one that you want to build that nobody even understands what you are doing?”
Okraku-Mantey, however, cast doubt on the accuracy of some of Juliet Asante’s claims, particularly with the claim of sexual harassment during her early days at the NFA, which he described as ‘vague.’
“I even suspected myself that I was one of the people who were involved in the sexual harassment allegations. I said I suspected myself because she said ‘the bosses’ and because there were many. I do not know if she’s talking about from the top or at our level.
“So, which of the bosses was she talking about? It’s a vague statement that puts all of us in that situation,” he said.
ID/EB
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