According to the Creative Arts Agency Law, the President is supposed to Appoint the Board Chairman and the Executive Secretary yet after 2 years of the passage of Act 1048 under the State of Emergency the President seems to have Hijacked the Sector.
Interestingly he has imposed his daughter on the Agency and we don’t even know what to do with her.
The Agency is supposed to work under the direction of a Board and liaise with the Tourism and Arts Ministry yet the Minister and his Deputy seem to be very ignorant about the same law they lead in its passage.
The Deputy, Mark who was supposed to be an industry person is a complete disappointment and the least said about him the better because his ignorance about a law he lead is unprecedented unless his MP ambition is his focus.
FOCAP is calling the attention of the President because the Creative Arts Agency Act has legal consequences and the President who is an astute legal Practitioner should understand it better.
30 and 33 of Act 1048 of 2020 clearly state that if you want to operate or are already operating in the Creative Arts sector you are supposed to register with the Creative Arts Agency 1 year after the passage of the Act in 2020 and failure to do that will lead to not more than 2 years imprisonment. “30. Registration of creative arts enterprises with the Agency (1) A person who intends to operate a creative arts enterprise shall, after incorporation or registration but before the commencement of operations, register with the Agency. (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than three hundred penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one year and not more than two years or to both. 33.
Transitional provisions (1) A person who operates a creative arts enterprise prior to the coming into force of this Act shall, within one year from the date of the coming into force of this Act, register that enterprise with the Agency.
(2) A person who, contrary to subsection (1), continues to operate a creative arts enterprise commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred and fifty penalty units and not more than two hundred and fifty penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not less than one” We’re in 2022 making it 2 years meaning that everyone operating in the Creative Arts Sector is a Criminal.
The President should therefore not Hijack the Creative Arts Agency but should rather activate article 195 of the constitution to make all necessary appointments before he turns all the practitioners into CRIMINALS.
KOJO PREKO DANKWA President – 0550077040
ENOCK AGYEPONG Vice President Research – 0244712136
MEL KWESI DAVIS Vice President – 0246550298
