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ALL SET FOR MUSIGA ELECTIONS ON JAN 12
All is set for the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) to hold its national and regional elections after over two years of litigation.
This follows various interventions by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the decision of the court to ask the litigants to resolve the matters using the Union’s internal mechanisms.
Next year’s elections is novel in that this is the first time that all paid up members of the Union. Previously, MUSIGA elections involved an electoral college selected from the branches.
This was changed after the last congress of the Union in 2015 Koforidua when Bice Osei Kuffour was reelected to a second term.
Since then, the Union’s constitution has been amended thereby allowing for all paid up members to be eligible to vote in the elections.
According to the chairman of the National Election Committee, Peter Marfo, the committee has completed its vetting of candidates at both the national and regional levels.
He noted that, “Once the vetting has been done, all is set for the candidates to campaign and prepare for the elections on Wednesday, January 12, 2022. We are prepared at both the national and regional levels.”
Over one hundred and four (104) candidates are contesting for the seventy-seven (77) positions nationwide. Of this number, eleven (11) candidates are contesting for the seven positions are the national level.
The contestants are for President – Bessa Simons, Ras Caleb Appiah-Levi and Deborah Freeman; General Secretary – Samuel Kofi Agyemang and Francis Derman Dogbatsey; 1st Vice-President – Rev Dr. Thomas Yawson; 2nd Vice-President – Abena Ruthy; Treasurer – Edward Edusa Eyison; Organizer – Nii Adu Chizzy Wailer; Welfare Officer – Gifty Oppong Ghansah.
The elections will be supervised by the Electoral Commission of Ghana and both the regional and national elections will take place on the same day in all the regional capitals of the old ten regions.
The MUSIGA elections is expected to herald the dawn of a new era for the Union.
Mrs Patience Antonio, a Child and Family Development Advocate, has called for a national campaign to reduce the growing reliance on breast milk substitutes among nursing mothers in Ghana.
According to Mrs Antonio, scientific evidence shows that breastfeeding improves a child’s emotional stability, boosts intelligence, strengthens the immune system, and provides long-term health benefits. She made these remarks in an interview with The Spectator in Accra last week, emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding for a child’s overall development.
She explained that breastfeeding is not just a biological act of feeding but a key emotional and developmental bridge between mother and child. She also highlighted the need for the recommended six-month maternity leave period to ease the pressure on mothers to return to work prematurely.
“Breastfeeding creates intimacy and trust. It assures the baby of love and security, which becomes the foundation for their emotional health,” Mrs Antonio noted, warning that abandoning exclusive breastfeeding could have long-term implications on children’s social and emotional wellbeing.
Consequently, she called for a minimum of five months of fully paid maternity leave for Ghanaian mothers to enable effective breastfeeding, bonding, and healthier child development. She also urged workplaces to implement family-friendly policies, including private spaces for breastfeeding, flexible working arrangements for nursing mothers, and stronger support systems for new parents.
Mrs Antonio further encouraged families and society to actively support mothers during breastfeeding, stressing that many women struggle due to lack of assistance at home or the pressure to return to work too soon. She emphasized, “If we want a healthier, emotionally stable generation, then we must make breastfeeding a priority and support mothers to do it without stress.”
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Spectator
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The Nanvili Community School in the Mion District of the Northern Region is facing severe infrastructural challenges, affecting teaching and learning for pupils in the area.
The school, which serves five surrounding communities with a total of 58 pupils, has deteriorated to the extent that many children have stopped attending classes. Poor classroom conditions and the lack of desks have made teaching and learning difficult. During a visit to the school, the gate-free classrooms were found filled with goat and sheep droppings.
During the rainy season, both teachers and pupils are often cut off from the school due to bad roads and flooding. Teaching activities are frequently suspended for weeks, negatively affecting academic performance.
The Assemblyman for the area, Mr. Dawuni Mutawakil, expressed concern, noting that the situation is worrying since these pupils are expected to compete with their counterparts in urban areas who have access to better facilities. He added that due to limited space, classes have been merged, with pupils from Primary One and Two, Three and Four, and Five and Six sharing the same classrooms.
The Chief of Nanvili, Abu Kassim, also appealed to the government and non-governmental organisations to come to the aid of the community. He emphasized that the current state of the school discourages children from nearby communities from attending.
Both the Chief and Assemblyman have called for urgent intervention to improve infrastructure and provide furniture for the pupils to ensure quality education for children in the Nanvili area.
By Geoffrey Buta, Nanvili, Northern Region
Spectator
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