Govt should not show interest in building a museum for any celebrity – Okraku-Mantey
Former Deputy Minister of Tourism, Creative Arts, and Culture, Mark Okraku-Mantey, has urged the government not to consider establishing individual museums for celebrities.
He said such actions could have political repercussions.
In an interview on August 4, 2025, Okraku-Mantey stated that such a move might result in requests for other celebrities to receive similar favours, which would ultimately result in needless expenses and political pressure.
“Governments should not even show any interest in any museum of any celebrity at all. Let me tell you why. People will say, ‘Yes, they did it for Lumba and did not do it for Dada KD’ A government can become unpopular out of this by just taking steps to do it for one person and not do it for another person; it can bring problems.
“Very soon somebody will say ‘why did you do this for Lumba and you didn’t do it for that person?’ he said.
Instead, he suggested that the government can create an enabling environment for private organisations to take up such initiatives.
“So the government can create the enabling environment, and the land can be offered as for the land, it is for everybody. Charterhouse, whoever, you can come and when you come government will create the enabling environment,” he added.
Okraku-Mantey cited the recent Daddy Lumba candlelight vigil, highlighting how the government collaborated with the private sector for the event.
“Like the candlelight vigil, the government created the enabling environment, that is why the Daddy Lumba team and the private sector got involved,” he added.
Okraku-Mantey emphasised that the private sector is most suited to oversee and maintain such infrastructure.
“They are the ones who can maintain these infrastructure. The government’s infrastructure itself are struggling,” he said.