Efia Odo challenges Rex Omar’s explanation for Black Star Experience

Ghanaian actress and media personality Efia Odo has disputed comments by Black Star Experience coordinator Rex Omar that economic hardship is limiting Ghanaians’ ability to attend entertainment events.

Speaking on United Showbiz, Efia Odo, whose birth name is Andrea Owusu, said Rex Omar’s assessment did not reflect the circumstances of every Ghanaian.

Rex Omar, a veteran musician, recently asked the public to be patient with the progress of the Black Star Experience. He said the country’s economic difficulties were affecting the entertainment industry, as well as other areas, and questioned why someone unable to afford food would spend scarce money on a concert ticket or a cinema visit.

Efia Odo rejected that reasoning, arguing that people continued to spend money on activities they considered important despite the economic situation. She pointed to the fact that Ghanaians still eat, socialise and go out, saying entertainment could also remain among their priorities.

She maintained that people who wanted to attend events were capable of making their own financial choices. In her view, Rex Omar should not assume that his judgment about what people can afford applies across the entire country.

The actress also argued that the economic climate should not be used as the sole explanation for the performance or slow progress of the Black Star Experience. She said continued attendance at entertainment events suggested that many Ghanaians were still willing to spend on such activities.

Efia Odo’s intervention adds to the public debate over how the Black Star Experience is being implemented and the reasons behind its development so far. She is known for expressing strong views on entertainment and social issues, and has appeared in Ghanaian films as well as previously working as a television presenter.

Rex Omar has also explained that the initiative did not receive a budgetary allocation for 2025. He said the secretariat was established only after the national budget had already been presented, leaving no allocation for the programme in that budget.

The Black Star Experience remains the subject of discussion as questions continue over its progress, its financing and the wider economic conditions affecting Ghana’s entertainment sector.