Government to adopt stringent cinematography policy - Ohene
Accra (Greater Accra) 04 July 2001
The cinematography and censorship legislation is to be reviewed with the view to adopting more stringent measures to check excessive domination of foreign culture.
Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Media Relations Minister who announced this in Accra said the country has watched with interest and concern, the excessive intrusion of Western culture with films, which virtually do not respect the sensibility of the African mind.
Ms Ohene said this in a speech read on her behalf by Mr James O. Afrani Acting Director of the Ministry of Media Relations at the opening of the 5th African Student Film and Television Festival (ANIWA) 2001 in Accra for ten African countries.
The two-week festival is to represent the vision or perception of Africans about themselves and how they can liberate their minds from superstition, ethnicity, civil strife, cultural alienation, poverty, ignorance and disease.
She said the government objects to nudity scenes, gangsterism, rape, excessive violence, sex and other vices dominating the national cinema and need to be controlled to protect national pride and culture.
Ms Ohene said, "what is even more repugnant is the fact that when professionals operating on the continent load their films and are ready to run their cameras, they tend to copy the contents of the foreign movies and soap operas, the difference perhaps invariably may be only in the setting."
The local film producers also delight in producing weird images of witchcraft and juju, which leads to superstition and tend to insult the sensibility of the African.
She urged African producers to devote enough time and attention to examine the negative impact of their films with the view to addressing them and focus more production on creative and innovative images that promote progress.
She said since communication is a powerful instrument for development, "let us use it to project and encourage our developmental efforts."
On the theme of the festival "Liberating the mind," Ms Ohene called on managers in the industry across the continent to suggest legislation's and actions including previewing, classification and excision of films within the framework of the global village.
She said producers and distributors from the developed world also need to liberate their minds by recognising the sensibility of other cultures when exporting films.
Mr Christian Nawonz, German Ambassador warned against the dangers of privatising the industry, which could lead to commercialisation thereby endangering potential talents.
He said private sector support for the industry is necessary but governments must avoid commercialisation.
Mr Martin Loh, Director of NAFTI said the festival is meant to represent the vision or perception of Africans about themselves and how they can liberate their minds from superstition, ethnicity, civil strife, cultural alienation, poverty and ignorance.
He said the festival brings together teachers, trainers and students trainees in the film and television industry through quality training of trainers programme, refresher courses on documentary and drama production.
ANIWA 2001 attracted participants from ten African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and the Economic Commission of Africa.
The festival is under the co-sponsorship of the Television Training Centre of Berlin and the National Film and Television Institute (NAFTI).
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Accra (Greater Accra) 04 July 2001
Vice President Aliu Mahama on Tuesday noted that if peace were to be achieved and maintained a lot of resources, which would otherwise be committed to peacekeeping activities in terms of logistics and maintenance of personnel could be channelled for rapid development.
"The resources could be better utilised to improve the impoverished living conditions of the majority of people living in the developing countries," Vice President Mahama said in a speech read for him by the Deputy Minister of Defence, Mr Edward Martey Akita at the launch of a book on UN peacekeeping operations in Accra.
The 348-paged book: " Preparing for United Nations International Peacekeeping Operations in the Third Millennium" was authored by Major Noble Paul Agyemang-Bioh, a General Staff Officer at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (Junior Division), Teshie.
Vice President Mahama said peace was a prerequisite for any meaningful development, saying, "it is therefore imperative that we do everything to make the world a peaceful place to live in".
He noted that the nature and effect of current conflicts were devastating and that the advent of powerful missiles and harmful gases indicate that the world should not wait to experience any conflict situations.
"We do not have to look far to see the effects of what any conflict situation can bring to our people".
He said the number of unrest; violent fighting and civil wars in some African countries have seemingly no end in sight, adding that the plague of terror was gradually eating up societies thus rendering the human race an endangered specie.
The Vice President Mahama contended that the military should not allow "rebels" to recruit them for any adventurous acts that will result in conflict situations in the country and tasked civil society not to send wrong signals that encourages "adventurism".
Drawing attention to some internal conflicts in the country, he said Ghana would have to intensify its search for ways to nip such conflicts in the bud for it to concentrate its efforts and resources on economic development.
He said the government would adopt policy measures that would ensure that Ghanaians have the opportunities of exercising their range of choice, which would protect them from the threat of disease, hunger, unemployment, crime and political oppression.
"I believe that the future holds good prospects for more effective human development directly inspired by our democratic dispensation and the hard work and dedication exhibited by our Armed Forces," he added.
The First two copies of the book were bought for five million cedis each, while the third copy went for 1.5 million cedis.
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