Controversial filmmaker Socrates Sarfo has asked music producer Mark Okraku Mantey to, as a matter of principle and on moral grounds, resign his position as a member of the Vodafone Ghana Music Awards Board.Socrates said Mark’s continued stay on the VGMA Board put him in a conflict of interest position in the face of the massive public uproar that has greeted the decision of the Board to nominate Kuma Guitar, Mark’s artiste, under the New Artiste category.
Socrates has also asked Mark to redraw a nomination of Kumi Guitar from the 2014 edition of the VGMA for the sake of principles and fairness.
Kumi Guitar’s nomination for New Artiste of the Year has heavily been criticized since nominations were made public.
Critics said he did not qualify as a New Artiste of the Year based on the definition of that category.
They argued that he was not a new artiste because the first version of his song, ‘Break Into Two,’ was released some years ago and was then produced by Sugar Tone.
Also, they raised issues about conflict of interest on the part of Mark Okraku Mantey who doubled as a member of VGMA Board and CEO of Slip Music, under which Kumi is signed.
According to Socrates, he would be disappointed in Mark if he did not ensure that the right thing was done.
“I am advising Mark Okraku Mantey to step down as a member of VGMA Board and also redraw his artiste’s nomination based on his standards and principles. Mark has so far shown himself as a principled man. I don’t think the issues are doing any justice to him. He is my brother and I respect him for his principles. As a principled man as he is, he should just let it go,” Socrates told NEWS-ONE on Friday.
“When Mr. Hackman was elected president of the Film Producers Association of Ghana and he picked me as his personal PRO, it wasn’t illegal. However, some members were not happy about that idea. A lot of people spoke against it. Mark was one respectful person who called me and advised me to step down against the wish of Mr. Hackman. It was a painful experience but I stepped down.”
“Today, Mark finds himself in a similar situation. He has an artiste who has confirmed to have released his song about four years ago under Suger Tone. What is such an old artiste doing in a category supposed to be for new artistes? I am sure Mark is a principled man and he should do the honourable thing. Based on his principles, he should also resign from the VGMA Board because it will be a conflict of interest. You are on the board and you also have an artiste, whose works are submitted for consideration,” he added.
However, Mark has denied the conflict of interest allegation and has maintained that his position on the VGMA Board did not influence the nomination of Kumi Guitar.
By Francis Addo
“I am advising Mark Okraku Mantey to step down as a member of VGMA Board and also redraw his artiste’s nomination based on his standards and principles. Mark has so far shown himself as a principled man. I don’t think the issues are doing any justice to him. He is my brother and I respect him for his principles. As a principled man as he is, he should just let it go,” Socrates told NEWS-ONE on Friday.
“When Mr. Hackman was elected president of the Film Producers Association of Ghana and he picked me as his personal PRO, it wasn’t illegal. However, some members were not happy about that idea. A lot of people spoke against it. Mark was one respectful person who called me and advised me to step down against the wish of Mr. Hackman. It was a painful experience but I stepped down.”
“Today, Mark finds himself in a similar situation. He has an artiste who has confirmed to have released his song about four years ago under Suger Tone. What is such an old artiste doing in a category supposed to be for new artistes? I am sure Mark is a principled man and he should do the honourable thing. Based on his principles, he should also resign from the VGMA Board because it will be a conflict of interest. You are on the board and you also have an artiste, whose works are submitted for consideration,” he added.
However, Mark has denied the conflict of interest allegation and has maintained that his position on the VGMA Board did not influence the nomination of Kumi Guitar.
By Francis Addo
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