We paid for the supposed stolen work

The Ghana Tourism Authority says it paid for the piece of work that one artiste Kirani Ayat claims to be his piece of art.

According to the Authority, it contracted an agency to create an imaginative and impactful social strategy for its use and paid in full for all services rendered by the agency.

It has therefore taken notice of the complaints of Kirani Ayat on social media and has asked the agency to ensure it deals with the situation.

Kirani Ayat reacting to a video promoting Ghana said it was his piece of work and that even though he chased the Tourism Ministry to adopt it, they never got back to him.

He said it, therefore, comes as a surprise that after snubbing him, they decided to on his blind side use it for advertising purposes.

“The president of Ghana has used my video “GUDA” in this ad to promote Ghana. I was actively reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism in 2018/19 to use this video to push tourism in the North and got NO reply, yet today it’s in an ad and no one reached out to me for permission.”

He insist he never gave his work to any agency.

“Taking cognizance of the statement issued this morning by the Ghana Tourism Authority, I, Kirani Ayat would like to state categorically that No agency has any Rights whatsoever to my intellectual property neither have I given such rights to any agency either expressly or implied.”

to use my intellectual property. I wish to bring to the attention of Ghana Tourism Authority that what is happening is an affront of your requirement to promote the interest of Ghana which includes its artistes. By this notice, I demand that the said agency be named publicly. Failure to do so will imply Ghana Tourism Authority is the said agency and I will take all necessary measures to vindicate my rights and protect my intellectual property,” he said.