John Mensah Warns Ghana Gospel Industry Awards Organizers

The Chief Executive Officer of JMS Music Production, John Mensah Sarpong has advised organizers of the Ghana Gospel Industry Awards (GGIA) to involve the stakeholders in the sector if they want the event to be recognized. According to him, the organisers of the awards, who are not stakeholders but business men and women, have decided not to involve the stakeholders because of their selfish interest. He stated that the GGIA scheme needed the support and contribution of the stakeholders who spent their hard-earned money to build the gospel music industry, adding that if the organisers thought they were smart and could sideline the stakeholders in orders to have a field day to operate, then they were making a very big mistake. In an interview, Mr Sarpong, who is also one of the seasoned gospel music producers in the country with 20 years experience and with over 33 albums to his credit, said �We, the stakeholders, don�t know how the GGIA was established. We don�t know who the committee members are and the criteria being used to reward the players. The stakeholders did not even know how the categorization structures were put in place�. �I don�t value the Ghana Gospel Industry Awards because it is not credible. Most of the names of prominent gospel music producers like Ankobeahene were missing in the various categories. I don�t even know how the awards came into existence,� he lamented. While claiming not to have problems with those who won various awards, Mr Sarpong said, �I have a problem with the organisers for organising such a shoddy event without approval from the stakeholders. They should do their home work well to get the support from the stakeholders if they want to succeed.�