Monday December 1, 2025 is sure to be recorded as a historic day for the state broadcaster, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). It is the day of its Rebranding, the return to the original, iconic name, ‘Radio Ghana’ (95.7 FM). It’s also, in my opinion, a long overdue Sankofa transformation.
The ‘Sankofa’, one of the most popular Adinkra symbols, depicts a bird with its head turned back and sometimes holding an egg in its beak; and the associated Akan proverb is “sἑ wo were firi na wosankᴐfa a, yἑnnkyiri”, meaning ‘if you forget (something), it’s not a taboo to go back and fetch it’.
I remember writing some time ago, that being a news enthusiast, I consider it a promising start to my day when I hear the GBC 6 a.m. news bulletin signature tune. The compelling, pulsating traditional talking drums language interpreted as ‘Ghana, montie’ (“Ghana/Ghanaians, listen up!”), followed by: “The time is six o’clock. This is Radio Ghana; …” ensures that I have a basic news briefing before my schedule begins.
However, somehow in the evolution of the Corporation, in September, 2001, the name “Uniiq FM” entered the picture, doubtless for a good reason; and the original was seemingly shunted aside.
Still, I wondered, how could “the voice of the nation, Radio Ghana”, be replaced by, a trendy but soulless ‘tag’ like ‘Uniiq FM’, in my opinion no match for the authoritative, punchy original? To me ‘Radio Ghana’ strikes a certain chord, even denoting patriotism.
Surely, ‘Radio Ghana’ also connotes the very soul of the nation. Its status is implied; one that no other station can boast of. Even without spelling it out, that name commands respect, and represents uniqueness!
Thus, it was with joy that on November 3, 2025, during the 6 a.m. bulletin, I heard GBC Director-General, Professor Amin Alhassan, announcing that from December 1, the station would be rebranding, reverting to the original name, Radio Ghana.
The management explains that the change is a strategic decision to reposition the station as “the true national and global voice of the nation… The name ‘Radio Ghana’ is the original name in broadcasting for the nation, and reverting to it reinforces the station’s identity as a public service broadcaster for all Ghanaians.”
I can’t really explain my affinity for Radio Ghana. Perhaps it has something to do with a sentimental, childhood memory associated with my stepmother’s brief connection with ‘Broadcasting House’ (in 1959 or 1960).
As narrated in my book, Conversations With My Father, my stepmother, Matilda (a white, British national), had a short stint there, explained in an excerpt from the book. My father, Mr. B. Yeboah-Afari, a former Convention People’s Party MP and Ghana’s first Minister for Agriculture, told me:
“When we established the Broadcasting Service (Radio Ghana), Kofi Baako (then Information Minister) had then travelled and I was again acting as Minister Responsible and they needed somebody to monitor the French radio stations because as a new outfit we had no people who could do that effectively.
“They told me and I said “oh, my wife speaks French, she can help.” When I told her, she was so happy to do that. But when Kofi Baako returned, he said no! He didn’t want her to continue. She was very much disappointed.”
So, Mama’s public-spirited contribution was not appreciated, evidently for political reasons.
As a regular Radio Ghana 6 a.m. bulletin listener, I have noticed a disturbing development for some time and it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to mention it.
Impartiality in news reports is crucial and I believe that is what listeners expect when they tune in to the station. However, sometimes Radio Ghana news seems to have lost that critical professionalism because some reports appear rather one-sided. The impression is that the reporter was not fair, or didn’t make the effort to find other sides of the story.
And I also wonder why Radio Ghana doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities offered in news bulletins to publicise their schedules. For example, when during a news bulletin, there is an excerpt or reference to a Radio Ghana, or Ghana Television report, surprisingly, there is no attempt to go a step further and add the time that particular programme itself is aired, to attract listeners.
But of course, there are many times when the station deserves commendation. On May 11, this year, I had occasion to write the following message:
“Commendation for Radio Ghana, the 6 a.m. bulletin: when they announced the sad news of the death of musician Dada KD, they played one of his famous hits. Very helpful … Probably other listeners, too, appreciated the appropriate musical tribute.
“In fact, a few days ago, I (was) wondering why Radio Ghana announced the TGMA (Telecel Ghana Music Awards) Artiste of the Year without playing any of his songs.
“So today, well done Radio Ghana!”
Another instance was a very stimulating, educative interview by Joyce Gyeke on July 7, 2025, the kind of report that practically gifts a listener a tonic for the rest of the day.
I was so impressed that I took note of her name and shared my appreciation:
“I heard the interview Joyce Gyekey did with the head of Agric, West Mamprussi. Good interview, pragmatic, intelligent questions. I enjoyed her questions and the Agric specialist’s explanations. Well done to Joyce.”
For years I have been seeking an understandable explanation regarding the disappearance of 95.7 FM outside Accra, the loss of the direct access to Radio Ghana bulletins nationwide, as used to be the case. Frustratingly, now when I’m in my hometown (serene Dormaa-Ahenkro), I can only receive Radio Ghana through a local station.
Fortunately, this week I have been able to get clarity on the matter through GBC D-G Prof Alhassan which, doubtless, will help others, too:
He said, “Your memory about nationwide reception of Radio Ghana is right. But it was not 95.7 on the FM band. Indeed, Ghana had no FM broadcast technology then. Those days Ghana had Short Wave (SW) and Medium Wave (MW) broadcast transmission technology only.
“FM technology came in new but with limitation. It has rich sonic sound quality but cannot travel far unless you put a repeater station every 50 to 100 km from the headquarters. On the other hand, SW and MW technology travel far but transmit only mono sound. When you broadcast music on FM and SW/MW you will immediately notice the FM has rich sound quality.
“Now when Ghana adopted FM technology, owing to bad judgement, we immediately discontinued the use of SW/MW transmission. I was a student then. So, GBC had to change its regional stations into FM stand-alone units.”
However, the various local stations link up with Accra for the news bulletins, under ‘Radio Ghana’. “For instance, radio BAR (Radio Brong-Ahafo Region) in Sunyani, will connect to carry the Radio Ghana content when it is news time. After the news, it resumes broadcast as Radio BAR.
“We now want to bring back Radio Ghana as a national brand for marketing purposes. So, Accra’s Uniiq FM will now carry the name Radio Ghana,” Prof Alhassan stated.
It’s common knowledge that over the years, despite being the state broadcaster, successive governments haven’t given GBC adequate funding support, which is a great pity considering that it is GBC that has true national coverage; the channel that is required to cover national events, sometimes lasting for hours.
I believe the funding problem is the reason why in recent times newsreaders are even reading commercials during the news presentation. It earns money for the station, but certainly this cannot be a satisfactory, professionally correct situation.
Radio Ghana deserves to have funding support from the Government because it is one of the essential information dissemination partners for the country’s development agenda.
The December 1 ‘Sankofa’ serves to underscore the patriotic role of the station. Given the reach of the GBC, the rebranding objectives should prompt more financial assistance from the government.
But how I wish I had a magic wand to make it technically and technologically possible for 95.7 FM to be available nationwide once again! It should be a station readily accessible to all Ghanaians at all times, nationwide, complementing the local stations.
Anyway, as a longtime Ghana montie fan, from me it’s heartfelt congratulations and welcome back to “the voice of the nation, 95.7 FM, Radio Ghana”!
By Ajoa Yeboah-Afari