Persistent agitation from filmmakers concerning the reopening of cinemas seems to yield positive results as the President, Nana Akufo-Addo, has assured movie industry to expect a road map to be submitted by the Covid-19 Task Force to ease restrictions on cinemas.
At the launch of the Presidential Film Pitch in Accra under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture and the National Film Authority (NFA), Akufo-Addo noted that some countries have built profitable film industries and Ghana is capable of doing same.
“I want to proclaim on a matter of great concern, that the opening of cinemas is under constant review of the COVID-19 taskforce. And hopefully, you’ll hear from the taskforce soon,” Akufo-Addo said.
The National Film Authority – Action Group (NFA-AG), a Creative Arts industry pressure group largely made up of film industry stakeholder associations and guilds in 2020 petitioned the government to immediately take action to lift restrictions on our cinemas in Ghana.
“We have carefully evaluated the potential spread of the virus at our cinemas and the attached risk assessment shows the residual rating as safe for reopening. We propose an
online booking system which will allow us to track and trace our customers easily. Further to our own proposal, we have taken notice of the measures outlined by the cinema
operators and submitted to the Ghana Tourism Board for consideration – a copy attached. Our petition comes at this good time, especially after His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has lifted restrictions on a number of indoor/enclosed sectors where large groups gather such as Churches, Mosques, Conferences, Award shows and drinking bars. In addition, passenger buses have been allowed to operate at full capacity while travelling to further destinations,” The Group noted
