Former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has cautioned the government against directly investing in museums dedicated to deceased cultural icons, warning that such moves could spark public controversy and political backlash.

Speaking on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz with Kwame Dadzie, Okraku-Mantey emphasized the importance of preserving the legacies of Ghanaian creatives but argued that government-led initiatives to honour individual celebrities risk appearing biased or selective.

“Government should not even show interest in any museum of any celebrity. Yes, let me tell you why. I’ve been there, done that. Knowing my people, they will come and say ‘they did it for Lumba but they didn’t do it for Dada KD’. A government can become unpopular out of this. By just taking a step to do it for one person and not doing for the other person, it can bring problems. So government can create the enabling environment like the land we offered,” he said.

He recommended that the government should focus on providing land, policy support, and an enabling environment to encourage private sector or community-led efforts, rather than financing and managing such heritage projects.

To support his argument, Okraku-Mantey cited the Kwahu Traditional Council’s efforts to build a museum in honour of the late highlife legend Nana Kwame Ampadu, suggesting it as a model for how local leadership and private interest can preserve cultural history without direct government funding.

“So for government to be safe, not to worry you for your votes, just play safe, create the enabling environment so that the private sector people come on board. They are the ones who can maintain these infrastructure. The government infrastructure itself is struggling,” he added.

His remarks came during a broader discussion on preserving the legacies of Ghanaian musicians and creatives.