News:
January 13, 2017
Minister designate for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Catherine Afeku has called for immediate expedition of the Creative Arts Bill.
In an interview with GHOne TV, after the President announced her nomination, Hon. Afeku who’s also Member of Parliament for Evalue-Gwira, said there is no legislative instrument to support the Arts Industry.
She hinted that the Creative Arts industry has a lot of talents and heritages that need repackaging.
Madam Catherine Afeku added that the film section is the most vulnerable industry that needs these reforms to help structure it well.
According to her, once the bill is promulgated into an act, stakeholders can stick their necks out to support the arts industry.
She noted that once she’s given the nod as Minister of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, she intends to ensure air tariffs are reduced.
“My interest is in getting the aviation industry to see tourism as part and parcel of their industry. So if we have air tariffs drastically reduced, people will travel more and also will entice family members to look into what Ghana has to offer. But if it is prohibitive then it would be of no relevance.” She said.
She commented on promoting domestic tourism by sanitising the beach sites and re-orient the mindsets of Ghanaians to eschew littering and making the beaches an uncomfortable place for tourists.
President Akufo-Addo on Thursday confirmed the nomination of Member of Parliament for Evalue Jomoro-Gwira constituency in the Western region, Catherine Abelema Afeku as Minister designate for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Ministry.
She will be taking over from outgoing Tourism Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare. Afeku was MP from 2009 to 2012, but lost the 2012 elections until her re-election in the December 2016 polls.
Catherine Afeku was one of the prolific female Members of Parliament in the 4th Republic Parliament. She entered the political scene during President Kufuor’s era as the Government Spokesperson for Infrastructure.
She earned the admiration of the media and the general public with her appearance on the National Television and other media outlets.
Madam Catherine Afeku always talked about her passion to serve the public in an elected position but she had a lot of obstacles. She stood in a predominantly CPP zone in the Nzema area but shocked observers and analyst by becoming the first person ever to win parliamentary seat in the Nzema area on the NPP/UP/PP ticket.
She has continued to impress with her stellar performance in Parliament. She has made several meaningful contributions on the floor and serves on Committees that are typically dominated by her male colleagues. Click here for a link to contributions from Parliament by Hon. Afeku. She serves on 3 Committees in Parliament. They are the Road and Transport Committee, The Communications Committee as the Deputy Ranking Member and the Business Committee.