Sam Nartey George
Government has granted a 30-day amnesty to radio stations that were shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA), following a directive by the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation.
Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Sam Nartey George said this while responding to a directive by President Mahama for the ministry to work with the NCA on a reasonable timeframe within which the affected stations should regularise their authorisation.
The National Communications Authority, in the early hours of Thursday, shut down 62 radio stations including Wontumi Radio, Asaase Radio, and Happy FM over what it described as infractions and persistent violations of regulatory requirements.
President Mahama, in a statement signed by Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, following the closure of the radio stations, directed the Minister for Communications to restore operations of the affected radio stations.
The National Communications Authority, which embarked on the exercise, in a statement, cited specifically Regulations 54 and 56 of the Electronic Communications Regulation, 2011 (LI 1991) and the Conditions of FM Broadcasting Authorisations.
But the President, in the statement, said such regulatory compliance should consider the need to uphold and enhance media freedom.
It stated, “President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation to liaise with the National Communications Authority (NCA) to immediately restore the broadcast of sixty-four (64) radio stations affected by the regulator’s action.”
The President further indicated that the directive by the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation asking NCA to shut down radio stations while awaiting the regularisation of their authorisation could limit the space for expressing press freedoms.
According to the NCA, their actions follow a directive by the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation asking the NCA to enforce applicable sanctions on stations found to be in violations of the regulations.
The categorisation of infractions under the first phase, according to the NCA, includes twenty-eight (28) stations operating with expired authorisations.
It said some of the stations were ordered by the NCA in 2024 to cease broadcasting, but have continuously been in operation.
Others are fourteen (14) FM stations that were issued notices of revocation for failure to setup within two years from the date of their authorisations but subsequently requested for inspection and yet were still on air.
Thirteen (13) FM stations that applied for authorisation to continue operating and have been issued provisional authorisation but have not settled the provisional authorisation fees in full and do not have the valid authorisation to continue operating were also affected.
That action, the NCA explained, was in violation of Section 2 (4) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775).
The rest were seven (7) FM stations that have paid provisional authorisation fees but are yet to have final authorisation to fulfil the requirements of Regulation 54 of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011, L.I. 1991.
The NCA further stated that a total of approximately sixty-two (62) stations that have currently been affected by the exercise do not hold valid broadcasting authorisations or do not have a Certificate of Compliance to commence operations, and may only resume operations once all regulatory infractions have been addressed and rectified.
It said while the NCA acknowledges the vital role radio stations play in national development, it is imperative that all authorisation holders strictly adhere to the regulatory requirements and conditions of their authorisations.
It added that failure by the radio stations to comply with the directive constitute an affront to the prescribed conditions for FM broadcasting, with grave consequences and, therefore, urged all authorisation holders to fully comply with regulatory requirements to help promote an orderly industry.
But some political watchers monitoring the political space also described the move by NCA and the Ministry of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation as a vendetta targeted at perceived New Patriotic Party (NPP) pro-media houses who were pardoned by the former Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful and the NCA when a similar exercise was undertaken, leading to the closure of Radio Gold, Radio XYZ among other radio stations that were perceived to be aligned to the then opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).
In October 2019, Fifty-seven (57) out of the 144 FM stations that were cited for various infractions following an audit by the National Communications Authority were subsequently shut down during the NPP administration.
The former Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, was accused by a section of the public, particularly members of the then opposition NDC, for targeting pro-NDC media houses.
She denied such claims and said all the 144 stations including Radio XYZ were in breach of the Electronic Communications Act, citing the example of Radio Gold that failed to renew its licence for 16 years.
Although some Ghanaians, particularly political pundits, have commended President Mahama for the clemency, they believe that such actions were mere optics orchestrated to court public sympathy and divert attention from ongoing strike action by nurses across the country.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah