2018 AFRIMA in limbo, organisers to call off Ghana event

Organisers of the annual All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA) are planning to call off this year’s event scheduled to be held in Ghana this month.

It will be the first time Ghana is hosting the event.

This year’s Awards, sources close to the organisers have disclosed to Myjoyonline.com, may have to be cancelled because according to them, the Ghana government has failed to fulfill its contractual obligations.

Our sources say the government was supposed to provide some financial support for the event.

Other aspects of the contract including protocol, hotel, and security have also not been met as guests and artistes are expected to start arriving in Ghana on Wednesday, November 21 for the event.

Currently, Africa’s biggest music awards scheme, AFRIMA, organised by the AFRIMA Secretariat in Nigeria with the collaboration of the African Union (AU), was for the past four years hosted by Nigeria.

Ghana is expected to host the music event for the next three years but it appears even the first year may not happen.

Minister for Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Ablemaa Afeku, had said at a media briefing in Accra in August this year that guests from over 50 African countries are expected to attend the awards ceremony.

“… There will be over 100,000 people coming for the concert at the Independence Square on Friday, alongside a business summit on entertainment and the creative arts, and then the awards night.”

“About 80 million people are expected to view it on DSTV,” the Minister said.

Ghanaian-born American actor and comedian, Michael Blackson, popularly known as ‘The African King of Comedy’ alongside South African actress and talk show host, Pearl Thusi as well as Anita Erskine have been named as hosts for the main awards night scheduled for November 24, at the Accra International Conference Centre (AICC).



There is also an AFRIMA Music Village which will be a mega music concert on November 22, 2018, at the Independence Square. That concert will feature performances from some of Africa’s biggest music acts including Stonebwoy, Diamond Platinumz, Davido, Shatta Wale, Wizkid, Efya, MzVee, and Falz.

Some of the activities lined up for the awards ceremony in Ghana are: AFRIMA Welcome Soiree on November 21; Africa Music Business Summit (AMBS) on November 22 at the Ballroom, Kempinski Hotel, Accra; a Guided Tour of the notable sites and landmarks in Ghana on November 23 followed by 5th AFRIMA nominees party.

Our efforts to get some comments from officials of the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry did not yield much. Deputy Tourism Minister, Dr Idi Zimbim who is the Chairman of the planning committee for the awards told us he was unable to speak to the issue because he is out of the country.

Source:dailyguideafrica.com