[ 2021-02-02 ]

George Quaye: Once again our sector takes a big hit
Once again our sector takes a big hit! Don’t
tell me we should be innovative and go virtual.
Ask those who have done that how it panned out
mathematically.

For many a company in our space, going virtual is
simply to create some visibility and keep the
brand alive. You won’t even break even!

That brings me to the National Board for Small
Scale Industries (NBSSI) loans for the Creative
Sector announced and partially disbursed during
the first lockdown.

Dear Creative Practitioner, Did you also apply?
Did you receive yours? I ask because like me, many
creative practitioners never received it making
one wonder if it was an exercise just to make the
government look good ahead of the elections.

Or did the funds run out? It’s been well over
six months since various individuals companies,
groups and organizations in the creative sector
– the sector inarguably hardest hit by this
pandemic applied for loans to keep them afloat
during the period.
May be an image of 1 person and text that says
'UPDATE UDEo.23: No.23: MEASURES TAKEN AGAINST
SPREAD OF CORONAVIRUS 8 So, fellow Ghanaians,
until further notice, fu- nerals, weddings,
concerts, theatrical perfor- mances, and parties
are banned. Private buri- als, with no more than
twenty-five (25) people, can take place, with the
enforcement of the social distancing, hygiene and
mask wearing protocols.'

How is it that months after, these loans have
still not been disbursed? Yes we do admit a few
may have received theirs but what about the
majority out there?

Should they shut down (if they haven’t already)?
Should they fire all their staff (if they
haven’t already)? Should they vacate their
office premises over rent issues (if they
haven’t already)?

Or is it the case the money wasn’t enough and
after disbursement to a rather small percentage of
the sector it run out?

If that’s the case, what data was used to
determine how many companies or individuals were
in the sector and how much was made available to
cater for them? Or was it just an exercise to
satisfy a few…so it appears the sector was being
catered for just before elections?

Source - MyJoyonline

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