OB Amponsah, one of the prominent figures in the Ghana comedy industry, recently shared some challenges faced by stand-up comedians in Ghana.
OB Amponsah’s ability to combine humor and social critique is one of the distinctive elements of his comedy.
He bravely addresses a variety of issues, from commonplace events to more delicate ones, presenting a novel and thought-provoking viewpoint.
Meanwhile, OB Amponsah made an intriguing revelation that comedians in Ghana barely break even when they host an event in an interview with Andy Dosty on Hitz FM.
He shared his view that GRA (Ghana Revenue Authority) should be lenient on comedians in taxation because most of the tickets are complimentary, the event they usually host has the masses attending with the Auditorium filled, but unfortunately, most of the audience attends the events with a free ticket.
According to him, GRA tax their events based on attendance, and if many are attending the event on a free ticket, it implies that the event organizer ends up at a loss, which explains why comedians do not make meaningful profit from their events.
In addition, he stated that the major challenge in the comedy industry is that, there is less or no sponsorship in the Ghana comedy industry, and most comedians use their own funds to host events, and at the end of the events they incur loss.
“I have done four comedies show, I have not realized any much profit, not like profit if I deduct money from sponsors like people who know you and appreciate your craft. Those are the ones we use to offset some of the debt, but sincerely we hardly break even at the gate”, he said.
“The problem is not about sponsorship, what you put in you do not get it. If I put in my own money on shows that I have done, I wouldn’t get it back”
Speaking further he said, “Ideally when you do a show, at least you should get something to pay for your next rent or get you some care or get your parent something, no you don’t have that luxury when you are done and you pay the DJ and the comedians who came to perform, even you are not even able to pay the amount they deserve, you pay them the amount for showing up.”
