Ever since Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo was declared winner of the 2016 elections, one person whose name keeps popping up for the position of Deputy Minister of Tourism is movie producer Socrate Safo.
His name has raised a lot of eyebrows as some people in the entertainment industry feel he does not deserve that position because of his utterances and the kind of semi-nude movies he produces.
However, Socrate Safo who believes he can deliver when given the nod told Showbiz in an interview on Monday that he is different from how some people see him.
“Well there is a saying that familiarity breeds contempt and those few people who think I cannot do the job say so because they are judging me from a distance. They only hear of me in the media, and what some media guys fabricate out of their own imagination about me or how I present my character.
“I try playing the role of an uneducated person so I could be a model for the average person on the street or the young guy or girl who needs hope. I therefore want to use this opportunity to let people know who I really am,” Socrate said.
According to him, what people don’t know about him is that he spent part of his teen and all his adult life promoting Ghanaian culture through films and developing the creative arts industry through policy advice, training of industry players, advocacy, punditry and actual implementation.
Asked what he would bring on board if given the opportunity, Socrate Safo said as a learned person in the creative arts he intends to bring all his knowledge into making sure actors, musicians, artists and anyone who matters in the creative arts benefit.
“I know all the problems in the industry because I have been around for almost 30 years trying to solve some of the challenges. I was part of the people who drafted the NPP manifesto on the creative arts and I know how I intend to push it to the fullest” he said.
To him this is the time for the creative industry to get someone who is a real industry person and who actually belongs in there; an astute leader to act as a bridge between the industry and the government.
A founding member and former PRO of the Film Producers Association of Ghana, Socrate Safo who has produced many movies and trained most of the industry players said he will be transparent and serve his people wholeheartedly.
He was a resource person for Berlin Cultural Department, Long Island University, Columbia University and Michigan University where his expertise was employed for video making.
