“I don’t expect celebrities to charge any fee when they are engaged by gov’t to educate the public on COVID-19” – Tourism Minister

Minister of Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture, Barbara Oteng Gyasi, says she expects industry players to render their services for free when they are engaged to educate the masses on COVID-19.

The government is planning to bring to together prominent celebrities to come up with educational messages and materials to embark on a nationwide campaign on COVID-19.

According to the minister, aside from the money that will be made available for production and other logistical services, she does not expect the individuals to charge or demand professional fees for their service.

“We recognize that people imbibe information differently and it is often easier to transfer information through artistic pieces, so the Creative Arts Council is working with the Ministry of Information to come up with little skits that will educate Ghanaians on the Coronavirus and the protocols we have to observe.

“Definitely some funding will be made available to the technical production but I also don’t expect our industry players to charge professional fees in this wake because we are all helping in fighting the pandemic,” she said.

Most celebrities have used social media to educate their fans and Ghanaians on the need to adhere to the precautionary measures to curb the further spread of the virus.

However, it is rather clear that they will be ready to charge fees should the government engage them in a public role since most of these celebrities have made this point known.