Rex Owusu Marfo, the Coordinator of the Black Star Experience, has shed light on why several planned activities by the secretariat were not carried out in 2025, attributing the setback to the absence of budgetary allocation in the 2025 national budget.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Showbiz A-Z with host Kwame Dadzie, the veteran musician and music executive, popularly known as Rex Omar, explained that the Black Star Experience Secretariat was established after the presentation of the 2025 Budget by Finance Minister Dr Cassiel Ato Forson in Parliament on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.

“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 stated.

Rex Omar stressed that the lack of a dedicated budget significantly limited the scope of work the secretariat could undertake during the year.

“Because the secretariat do not have a budget, we couldn’t do a lot of the things we wanted to do,” he added.

Despite these constraints, he explained that 2025 was not wasted. According to him, the period was used strategically to lay a solid foundation for the Black Star Experience through extensive planning and stakeholder engagement. This included international travels to various countries to sign memoranda of understanding (MoUs) for future collaborations, as well as the rollout of initiatives such as Creative Connect Afrika and Taste the Culture.

Looking ahead, Rex Omar expressed optimism about the future, indicating that measures have been taken to ensure improved execution in 2026 as the secretariat transitions from planning to implementation.

“But the grace of God we presented and defended our budget for 2026,” he revealed.

The Black Star Experience is the government’s flagship culture, arts, and tourism initiative, designed to redefine and reinforce Ghanaian identity, attract investment, create employment opportunities, and boost tourism. The programme envisions year-round celebrations across major entertainment, artistic, and educational sectors, building on the legacy of the previous administration’s Year of Return and Beyond the Return initiatives.