Rex Omar: ‘This government has woefully failed’ except for 'Year of Return' programme

In the view of Highlife star Rex Omar, the only thing praiseworthy about the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo-led New Patriotic Party (NPP) government is the initiative that has brought the African diaspora back to the continent especially to Ghana, West Africa – the Year of Return and its follow-up programmes.

That said, assessing the government’s general performance especially regarding job creation in the creative arts industry, he expressed belief that President Akufo-Addo’s team has been a complete failure.

Rex Omar was with Nana Romeo on Accra 100.5 FM’s Entertainment Capital, Saturday, April 30, 2023.

“When you talk about music, film, fashion – all these things – we have done zero,” he bemoaned.

“A country that says we want to create jobs for the youth, I thought, if government gave this industry attention, it would have been really helpful,” he added. “But in this regard, we’ve failed. This government has failed.”

“The only thing that this government has done which has nothing to do with infrastructure is the programme called Year of Return,” he, however, admitted.

The ‘Dada Dida’ hitmaker contended that the success and impact of the said programme is a vivid testament to the “advocacy we have been doing” concerning the creative arts’ economic viability.

“Look at the noise it has made about and the mileage it has given Ghana even internationally,” he cited. “So imagine an instance where we have developed infrastructure and the whole approach to the tourism and the creative space – trust me, we’ll go very far!”

“The government,” however, “doesn’t care,” Omar lamented, throwing his hand as if to demonstrate how the creative arts industry has been written off.

The government reasons that “these [creative arts] people” are not worth their time, saying: “We want something better to go and do our galamsey (illegal mining) to make money you are here talking about creative industry,” he said.

“They have failed woefully,” he stressed.

Though generally laudable, he said the Year of Return has only benefitted “a few individuals who are career-creative people.” He cited the Ghana Tourism Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Akwasi Agyeman.

“These are the people who have driven the initiative,” he said.