President John Dramani Mahama’s intervention to prevent the cancellation of 64 radio stations’ frequency authorization nationwide due to various regulatory violations has been praised by the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA).
64 radio stations were shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA) on Thursday, June 12 for not renewing their authorization, operating without a valid authorization, transmitting more than was allowed, and not paying their authorization fees.
President Mahama stepped in and overturned the NCA’s decision, granting clemency to the radio stations that had defaulted shortly after the agency had taken action against them.
To reduce the growing tension in the industry, the President instructed the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology, and Innovation to coordinate with the NCA to halt the action.
The GJA stated in a statement issued on June 13 that closing 64 radio stations, irrespective of their violations “would have ruptured the electronic media industry, with dire social and economic consequences, including loss of thousands of jobs and denial of critical public services rendered by the stations.”
GJA concurred with the President that radio station closures could jeopardize freedom of expression and the media.
“We, therefore, commend President Mahama for tampering with regulatory enforcement with clemency in this instance, acknowledging that his intervention sends a good signal that the government is responsive to concerns for media freedom and is committed to fostering media pluralism and diversity,” the statement read.
To prevent future closure, GJA urged the impacted radio stations to make the most of the moratorium granted to them and to comply with all legal requirements.
The GJA emphasized that while it opposes all forms of illegality, it agrees with the President that media freedom must be upheld and strengthened while complying with regulations.
The GJA reaffirmed its constant demand for strategies that do not restrict the flow of information or unfairly penalize media outlets, even as it acknowledged the significance of regulatory compliance in maintaining a responsible media landscape.
“We, therefore, call for more and extensive dialogue between the regulator and stakeholders in the industry so that in the pursuit of operational fidelity, we do not cut our nose to spite our face,” GJA added.
In addition to asking the NCA to publish the status of all radio and television stations, along with the dates of their regulatory compliance and the owners of those stations, the Association demanded that the enforcement of regulatory compliance be fair and transparent.
By Najat Adamu
