Since June 2022, the Directorate of the Equatoguinean Cultural Centre in Malabo has restructured the departments, and has created several projects involving the participation of artists, artisans and talented young people, becoming a platform where various people, with a view to diversity, have the chance to grow and help others grow.

The new vision of the cultural centre is to cultivate within the institution all seven artistic disciplines, and thanks to the constant collaboration of the Mosat group led by the artist Nélida Kar, they now have music workshops in almost all areas.

Furthermore, under the guidance of the Minister for Culture, Tourism and Craft Promotion, Rufino Ndong Esono Nchama, an action plan has been drawn up for this new cultural extension season, taking into account internal collaboration between other artists and artisans when organising their exhibitions and talks. Externally, they hope to always count on the accredited diplomatic missions in our country, making available the CCEG’s spaces as a focal point where they can develop expressions of their culture on their independence days.

For this period they have conceived other common projects and activities, such as the African gastronomic fair, the book fair, and other projects that will see the light of day soon.

Today the Cultural Centre, in addition to offering classes in the indigenous languages of our country, also works with various artists and artisans to provide workshops such as Literary Culture, where writers and related groups such as OMAL, AZUL and other youth players have had the opportunity to connect with other young people, teaching them creative writing techniques and constant sharing through the exercise of reading and commenting on works from our literature.

During the first five months, dance workshops by various ethnic groups, theatre workshops with established groups such as Eticultura, graphic design workshops and public speaking workshops, among others, have been organised.

“Regarding the misinformation promoted by television programmes such as Matinales, and the digital newspaper Ahoraeg, we wish to clarify that, since 2017, the moment when the current Minister Ndong Esono Nchama took office, until today, all CCEG employees have been paid their salaries without delay, and furthermore, before the current minister, the staff did not receive their October 12th bonuses, nor those for the Christmas holidays. So I see no reason why TVGE has been able to broadcast such nonsense. These words are in response to comments made by the Afondo programme on 13th December.

Furthermore, activities of a cultural and artistic nature (music, theatre, literature, plastic expression, including painting and sculpture, photography and cinematography), provided that applicants do not charge for them, can be put on free of charge, in other words, they enjoy free space without paying anything.

Since its foundation in 2012, the CCEG has rented its spaces only and exclusively when the activities requested were not artistic, in other words, did not involve the seven aforementioned arts areas, and were activities such as first communions, christenings or private parties, conferences or screenings that have nothing to do with culture.

I would again like to add that the costs of these rentals are set at the Ministry for Culture, Tourism and Craft Promotion, which oversees the payment of all fees required under law, and that we comply with them efficiently. I thus see no reason why the digital media outlet Ahoraeg should have launched such insults as those spread to the population on 22nd December.

I don’t know if it is greed, malice or envy, but programmes like Matinales or media like Ahoraeg should stop creating darkness in communication and provide the population with truthful information, annoying or not for those affected; but to do that, it is necessary to investigate, compare sources and then bravely publish the true facts, and not fiction.

None of these media outlets approached the CCEG to interview those in charge if they had concerns or complaints about the functioning of the institution. We are aware that we must be transparent with respect to the population, and we must not manipulate their opinion through insults or give in to political interests through dishonest techniques that denigrate professional journalistic ethics and their duty to serve the public.

As author David Olusoga has already put it, techniques such as this are frivolous, flippant and unscrupulous indications of Matinales and Ahoraeg’s dishonest character. This is what happens when we have a press with a lack of journalism that lives not from the desire to report to the population, but from the whims of a few individuals with pretensions to political office. Misinformation is a global crisis which should not be promoted by our media; it is unbecoming”, said the CCEG director general.

Text and Photos: Jorge Abeso Ndong, Director General of the Equatoguinean Cultural Centre

Source: Official Web Page of the Government