- The Government of Uganda has commended singer Eddy Kenzo and the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) for their responsible use of the 5 billion shillings allocated to support the country’s music industry.
- The Ministry of Finance, led by PS Ramathan Ggoobi, reaffirmed its commitment to the sector through legal protection, financial empowerment, and a new creative home.
The Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Finance has appreciated singer Eddy Kenzo for putting to good use the funds allocated to the Uganda National Musicians Federation coffers. It should be noted that Government last year allocated 5 billion shillings to the UNMF.
Now government has also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the country’s music and creative industry. This will be done through a three way approach:- legal protection, financial empowerment, and also a dedicated creative studio.
This was revealed by Ramathan Ggoobi, the Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury.
While speaking about the UNMF, Ggoobi said government interventions are already yielding results.
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“For the artists, the creative industry, we are spending the money,” Ggoobi noted as he further clarified that government recognizes the arts as a serious economic sector.
He further explained that the federation asked for three key things the first being enforcement of copyright law:
“We have allocated money to enforce the copyright law, to protect artists’ intellectual property,” he said pointing out the longstanding concerns about piracy and exploitation in the sector.
Next Ggoobi said that the artists asked for a revolving fund to access affordable loans:
The rtists requested a low-interest loan scheme managed by the Microfinance Support Centre. This is in a bid to avoid predatory lenders and exploitative promoters.
“We gave them 5 billion shillings, and to my surprise, they managed it well,” Ggoobi said.
“When they returned, they showed me an account balance of 2.8 billion which is proof of transparency and sustainability.”
The last thing that these artists asked for is a permanent creative home. The government is now procuring a world-class recording and production facility for musicians.
“They wanted a home where they can record music and access quality studios. We are purchasing that home as a government — a shared space for all creatives,” Ggoobi further noted.
It should be noted that the UNMF has faced immense criticism every since it’s induction. Part of this has even been from fellow musicians but most of this has been politically motivated. It’s now waited to see if the Federation will indeed deliver the Creative industry to the promised land.
