The President of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Bessa Simons, and his Second Vice President, Abena Ruthy, have clarified issues surrounding the union’s welfare packages, stating that musicians who are not in good standing do not enjoy full benefits.
In an interview with Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, they explained that members who are inactive and have not paid their dues for more than six months are not entitled to the full welfare packages.
Touching on the GH₵500 donated at Yaw Sarpong’s one-week commemoration a few months ago, they said the gospel musician was not a member in good standing.
However, on humanitarian grounds, they chose to offer support, as they have done for several other musicians who are not members of the union.
“The last time he paid his dues was about 7 years ago,” Bessa Simons said.
They added that although MUSIGA members aged 60 and above are covered by the union’s Ageing Musicians Welfare Fund, Yaw Sarpong did not qualify because he had not paid his dues for the said number of years.
The leadership also addressed reports about a GH₵100 donation at Maame Tiwa’s funeral.
According to them, Maame Tiwa was also not a member in good standing, and that said donation did not come from MUSIGA but from a different group, which included a key member of the union’s leadership.
They stressed that MUSIGA, on humanitarian grounds, offers support in various ways to musicians who are not in good standing or are not members.
They noted that as musicians, they sometimes attend such funerals and social events of non-members and offer support without being bound by the union’s welfare and insurance conditions.
“We get people coming to us. The last one that happened, a young man came to us and said his dad was dead and that he wanted MUSIGA to play a role in the funeral,” he said.
According to Bessa Simons, although the deceased was not in their records as a registered member, MUSIGA assisted in securing a state-assisted funeral.
They further stated that when a MUSIGA member passes, the union donates not less than GH₵5,000.
The union also has pension and insurance schemes in place to support members in times of need, including death or incapacitation.
They therefore encouraged musicians and other music related professionals to register with the union.
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