Hon Abla Dzifa Gomashie
Ketu South
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. It is with profound honour that I announce to this august House the inscription of Highlife as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity originating from Ghana.
I wish to begin by acknowledging the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for its continued dedication to safeguarding the cultural expressions that define and enrich societies. Ghana is especially grateful for this recognition of Highlife music and dance by UNESCO. This acknowledgement not only affirms our history but also strengthens our cultural identity and our place within the global creative landscape.
Mr Speaker, Highlife music and dance emerged in the early 20th century in the coastal regions of Ghana, evolving from indigenous rhythms, storytelling traditions, and the musical influences that accompanied our own sociocultural transformations. It blended local melodies with brass band elements, guitar rhythms, and later urban band styles. Highlife became the soundtrack of Ghana's independence movement, a symbol of national pride and a cultural bridge connecting generations.
Mr Speaker, over the decades, Highlife has inspired numerous other African and global musical genres, shaped the continent's musical identity, and contributed to Ghana's international cultural footprint. Highlife music and dance are not merely artistic expressions, but they are sources of livelihood and engines of socioeconomic development.
Across generations, Highlife has: created employment for musicians, dancers, sound engineers, instrument makers, event organisers, fashion designers, lawyers, accountants, cultural educators, et cetera; supported thousands more directly through hospitality, tourism, nightlife industries, media productions, and cultural events; inspired festivals, concerts and cultural tourism, activities that stimulate local economies in cities and communities across Ghana.; and attracted global attention by drawing researchers, cultural tourists and music enthusiasts to contribute to Ghana's creative economy.
Mr Speaker, Highlife, simply put, continues to feed families, build careers, and sustain communities. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture, and Creative Arts and its implementing agencies remain steadfast in their commitment to promoting, preserving, and advancing our cultural heritage. The recognition of High Life by UNESCO strengthens our resolve to do even more.
The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, in collaboration with sister Ministries, will continue to develop policies and programmes aimed at strengthening documentation, research, and archiving traditional knowledge. We will support practitioners and traditional communities who keep our heritage alive. Mr Speaker, the Ministry is also working hard to establish frameworks to protect intellectual property and the rights of cultural practitioners.
Mr Speaker, finally, we are making preparations to nominate additional Ghanaian cultural expressions for UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List, ensuring that more of our traditions, festivals, crafts, and performing arts receive global recognition. These efforts form part of Ghana's broader strategy to elevate the creative economy, empower communities, and position culture as a driver of sustainable development.
Mr Speaker, in conclusion, I wish to humbly remind Ghanaians that intangible cultural heritage is a living force and it is what holds the key to unlocking the potentials that we have. It shapes who we are today and guides who we can become tomorrow.
I cannot conclude, Mr Speaker, without thanking the President, H. E. John Dramani Mahama, under whose leadership Ghana has achieved this historic success; to thank the VicePresident, H. E. Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang, who loves to dance to highlife music like my good self, the Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, my very able Deputy Minister, Hon Yussif Issaka Jajah, Directors and Staff of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, and all its agencies, especially, the Folklore Board led by Mr Felix Adjavon.
Mr Speaker, with your kind leave, may I request that you permit me to ask this august House to observe a moment of silence in remembrance of the late Dr Owusu, Nana Ampadu, Charles Kojo Fosu (Daddy Lumba), Naa Amanua Dodoo, among others, who have played their part and passed on, but indeed we remember them for contributing immensely to this feat that we have achieved. May our collective efforts continue to celebrate and respect diversity, strengthen unity, and secure a proud future for the generations that follow.
Mr Speaker, if I have your permission that we stand for and observe a moment’s silence, I would appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Hon Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah
Takoradi
Thank you very much for this opportunity.
Mr Speaker, like she said, highlife actually emerged from the coastal areas, and everybody knows that one area that was very solid for highlife music was the Western Region. In fact, you can talk about the likes of C. K. Mann, Papa Yankson, Paa Thomas, Felix Owusu, and the current reigning Highlife champion, Kofi Kanata. So, for me, we are happy that UNESCO has recognised highlife as a Ghanaian original artwork, and I believe that it is time as a country that we started looking at new ways of monetising highlife properly. If you take the lives of many of the older generation, even though artistically they were brilliant, economically they did not have the economic well-being in their olden ages.
Mr Speaker, highlife is timeless. In fact, if we consider how highlife has been able to support other genres, you would see that highlife is really timeless. As a music student at Mfantsipim School, I know that if you want to recognise a song as highlife, it is that little beat that goes like ka-ka-ka-ka-kaka in the music. In fact, Afrobeat, which is a faster version of highlife, also came from highlife, and usually Afrobeat will go like ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka, and that is Afrobeat. As we speak, we know that hip-life is also a modification of the highlife genre. We can see that there is that connection that connects the dots, that if we get the highlife solid, the other genres can also develop and be monetised for the good of society.
Mr Speaker, I am a big fan of C. K. Mann’s, Adwoa Yankie, you see that song, you get that song, yes. So, I believe that it is time that we support the highlife, because currently, only a few artists are actually engaged in highlife, and if we are not careful, it might die off. So, I believe that we need to have a strategic arrangement to make sure that we can easily or quickly pick those who are showing promise in that area, support them to grow, and make sure that they can deliver more for this country.
Mr Speaker, I have been associated with music for a long time. My grandmother actually set up the first nightclub in Takoradi. In her days, highlife was the key songs that were being played before the foreign music came, and then now we are getting a better, effective promotion of hip-life also joining in. So, I believe that this is a good progress we have made as a country, but like we all know, most musicians in Ghana always complain that they are not getting real value for their labour, and I am talking about intellectual property.
Every time Ghana Music Right Organisation (GHAMRO) and the rest come up, they seem always to be accused of not organising the monetary aspects for artists in this country, and I believe that the Ministry might have to quickly look at that particular area to make sure that the investment our artists put in these works, especially in old age, accrue some benefits that can sustain them, so that younger generations can also learn from them and also start contributing artistically to this country.
In America, music is money, and we should be able to make it work here in Ghana. With these few years, Mr Speaker, I thank you for this opportunity to contribute to the effort by the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts efforts in promoting highlife music. Thank you very much.
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