The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has commended President John Dramani Mahama for his intervention to halt the revocation of frequency authorisation of 64 radio stations across the country for various regulatory breaches.
President Mahama on Thursday directed the Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Mr Samuel Nartey George, to liaise with National Communication Authority (NCA) to immediately restore the broadcast license of the affected radio stations.
The GJA, in a press statement issued and signed by the General Secretary, Mr Kofi Yeboah and copied The Ghanaian Times on Friday, said that the directive by President Mahama was appropriate, hence, the commendation.
According to the GJA, shutting down the affected radio stations, regardless of their infractions, would have raptured the electronic media industry.
Additionally, it said that the move to shut down the affected radio stations would have had a dire social and economic consequence, including unemployment and denial of critical public services rendered by those radio stations.
“We agree with President Mahama that shutting down the radio stations may seriously undermine media freedom and freedom of the press,” the GJA said.
“We, therefore, commend President Mahama for tampering regulatory enforcement with clemency in this instance,” it added.
According to the GJA, the intervention by President Mahama sent a good signal that his government was responsive to concerns of media freedom and was committed to fostering media pluralism and diversity.
That notwithstanding, the GJA said that it did not condone illegality, adding that “we share in the President’s view that regulatory compliance must accommodate the need to uphold and enhance media freedom.”
The GJA, therefore, urged the affected radio stations to use the moratorium extended to them to address all regulatory breaches as far as regulatory compliance was concerned in order to avoid subsequent closure.
It also called for more dialogue between the NCA and stakeholders in the media industry during such instances and reiterated its consistent call for approaches that did not stifle the flow of inform of unduly penalised media houses.
“We call on the NCA to publish the standing of all radio and television stations, including dates of their regulatory compliance as well as the owners of those media houses,” it added.
BY TIMES REPORTER
