In 2011, the Ghanaian government allocated GH¢2 million to the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) as part of its budget to support the creative arts industry.
The former president of MUSIGA, Bice Osei Kuffour, popularly known as Obour, received the funds on behalf of the union and promised to use them for the benefit of the musicians.
However, many musicians, including D-Black, were disappointed and angry when they learned that Obour had spent half of the money on a research project by KPMG, a global auditing firm, to study the Ghanaian music industry.
Obour denied any misappropriation of funds and claimed that the research was necessary to provide a blueprint for banks and other stakeholders who want to invest in the industry.
D-Black, speaking on his “Uncut with D-Black” show on Enjoyment Radio on January 26, narrated his experience and how he was misled into accompanying Obour to the Ministry of Finance to receive the grant after a series of promises from him.
“Obour asked me to accompany him to the Ministry of Finance. He said the government wants to give us some money so he wants to show a unified front. I was excited. So, we went.
“And I had asked him ‘What are we going to do with this money if it comes?’ And he says, ‘Oh, we’ll fix the royalty system in Ghana. We’ll build some more studios for artists in the underground to be able to access those who don’t have money. We’ll put some producers in there. We’ll do a concert every year. Ghana Music Week celebration.’ He made a lot of promises so I was very excited.
“Do you know that a week after they read the budget, they had given Obour the money already? At the time. It was 3 million Ghana cedis. And when they did accounts, they said half of the money was used to do research,” he recalled.
D-Black said he felt betrayed and deceived by Obour, who failed to deliver on his promises and wasted the money on research that he did not consult the musicians about.
The MUSIGA funds controversy has been one of the most heated issues in the Ghanaian music industry, as many musicians have accused Obour of mismanaging and embezzling the money.
Meanwhile, Obour lost the NPP parliamentary primaries for the Asante Akyem South constituency for the second time.
The primaries, which were held on January 27, saw Obour come second to Asante Boateng, who won by a large margin.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
