As the 2024 general elections approach, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister for Communications and Digitalization, is urging the National Communications Authority (NCA) and the National Media Commission (NMC) to intensify their supervisory roles in overseeing the media landscape.
She underscored the significance of media freedom but also emphasized the necessity for regulated content to avoid the spread of potentially incendiary material.
In the run-up to the election, the minister advocated for a balance between media freedom and responsible content creation.
She made these remarks on the sidelines of the launch of the NCA’s 5-year strategic plan in Accra on Tuesday.
“Two key regulators in this sector are the NCA and the NMC. I know the NCA has set up a broadcast monitoring centre here, which the NMC is using to monitor the content that is put out by all broadcasters, and those who fall foul of their own guidelines are sanctioned. I expect them to deepen that collaboration to ensure that together, we work to sanitize the airwaves, and we don’t see an upsurge in fake news, media publications, defamatory material, and things that will tend to disturb or threaten the peace and security of our nation.”
“So I am expecting the two regulators to work closely together this year to monitor what’s put out and work with the Ghana Journalists Association and Independent Broadcasters Association to sanitize the space for our collective good,” she stated.