Blackstar Experience 2025: Why No Budget Was Allocated

Coordinator of the Blackstar Experience, Rex Owusu Marfo, popularly known as Rex Omar, has explained why most of the secretariat’s planned projects were not executed in 2025. Speaking to Kwame Dadzie on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z, he cited the absence of a budgetary allocation as a reason for that. According to Rex Omar, the secretariat could not be captured in the 2025 budget because it was established after the budget had already been read. “Our office was set up after the budget had been read. We were not included in the 2025 budget. One thing you have to know is that the secretariat is not an agency on its own. The secretariat is one of the offices within the presidency so we don’t have our own account,” he said on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z. He further noted that as a result, many of their activities required clearance from the Presidency before they could be carried out. “Because the secretariat do not have a budget, a lot of the things we couldn’t do a lot of the things we wanted to do,” he added. Despite the challenges, Rex Owusu Marfo said steps had been taken to ensure the situation does not repeat itself. “But the grace of God we presented and defended our budget for 2026,” he told host Kwame Dadzie. In the meantime, he noted that the secretariat used 2025 to lay the foundation for the Blackstar Experience through extensive preparatory work. According to him, the team travelled to several countries to sign memoranda of understanding for future projects, and also organised initiatives such as Creative Connect Afrika and Taste the Culture. The Black Star Experience’ is the government's flagship Culture, Arts, and Tourism brand to redefine and affirm the Ghanaian identity, attract investments, create new jobs, and increase tourism. It will undertake a year-round celebration in all the major entertainment, artistic, and educational disciplines.