Juliet Asante Shares Her Challenges as NFA Boss: No Office, Funding, or Staff

Juliet Asante, the former Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), has opened up about the profound challenges she faced when she was appointed to lead the body tasked with regulating and promoting Ghana’s film industry. Reflecting on her early days in the role, Asante recounted a journey that was fraught with financial struggles, limited resources, and lack of institutional support, which made the task of building the NFA from the ground up all the more daunting.

When Asante took on the responsibility of leading the NFA, she found herself in a position where she had a mandate on paper but virtually nothing else to begin with. “I walked into the role with just a piece of paper, no office, no funding, and no staff,” she recalled. “The only thing I had was a paper mandate, and with that, I had to figure out how to create an agency from scratch.”

Starting with a small team of just two people, Asante began the painstaking work of laying the foundation for the NFA. She took it upon herself to draft a strategy that would serve as the blueprint for the body’s future work in developing Ghana’s film sector. “I spent a lot of time putting together a strategy, but it became apparent very quickly that no one was particularly interested in what we were doing,” she explained. “It was clear from the outset that I was facing a very long, tough road ahead, and I was on my own in trying to make this happen.”

Financial constraints were among the most significant obstacles Asante encountered. The NFA was allocated only GH¢1,000 (approximately $100) for the entirety of its first year of operations, a sum that was woefully insufficient to cover even the most basic expenses. “In the first year, we were given GH¢1,000 to run the entire agency,” Asante shared. “The following year, we got GH¢10,000, which at the time was around $1,000. Neither I nor my team received a salary for two years. We had to fund the operation of the office ourselves.”

This lack of financial resources meant that the NFA had to function without the basic support required to maintain a professional office environment. Asante recalled that she and her staff worked from her home or from the homes of other team members, often using their personal funds to keep the operation going. “We worked from my house, or wherever else we could find a place to meet,” she said. “We were essentially running a government office out of our pockets.”

Aside from the financial struggles, Asante faced the added challenge of not having a clear roadmap for establishing a new government institution. Ghana’s film industry was in need of a regulatory body, but there was no established blueprint or guidelines on how to create such an agency. This lack of structure made Asante’s job even more difficult, as she had to navigate the complexities of building an agency from the ground up with little to no support or guidance from other government bodies.

Another hurdle was her difficult relationship with the NFA’s board, which made it clear from the start that Asante was not their preferred choice for the role. According to Asante, the antagonistic attitude from the board members only added to the challenges she already faced. Despite the lack of support from the board, Asante remained determined to press forward with the agency’s mission of promoting Ghana’s film industry, even if it meant doing so with minimal resources and under difficult conditions.

Looking back on her experiences, Asante acknowledged that the road to establishing the NFA was not an easy one. However, her perseverance, passion for the industry, and commitment to creating lasting change helped her push through the various setbacks and limitations. Through these struggles, she ultimately laid the groundwork for an institution that would go on to play a pivotal role in the development and regulation of Ghana’s burgeoning film industry.

Asante’s story is one of resilience in the face of adversity, and her leadership in the NFA demonstrates the power of determination, even when the odds are stacked against you.