A lot of Musicians can’t fill the National Theatre – Mark Okraku-Mantey

Deputy Minister for Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Hon. Mark Okraku-Mantey, has expressed his doubts about the construction of a large-capacity amphitheater in Kumasi. According to him, building a theater that can only be filled by a few musicians with 3,000 fans at a particular event would be a waste of government resources. In an interview with Angel FM Kumasi, he highlighted that most musicians are unable to fill even the National Theatre, which has a capacity of less than 2,000, let alone a 3,000-capacity theater.

Mr. Okraku-Mantey pointed out that conducting a benefit analysis, and building a 3,000-capacity theatre for only a few artists to fill throughout the year does not make sense. To justify the government’s decision to construct a less-capacity theatre at the Kumasi Cultural Centre, he emphasized that it is practical to build a theater that can be utilized by most artists.

Although the government promised to build theatres across the country prior to the 2020 elections, the Deputy Minister revealed that the construction of the Kumasi Theatre at the Cultural Centre is currently underway and will be completed in July. While it is only 1,000 capacity, it will have spillover spaces for other activities. The project is being funded by the IMF.