The National Communications Authority (NCA) has served notice it will go ahead and take off air any radio station which does not comply with its regulations.
The NCA has already sanctioned 131 radio stations for violating certain aspects of the Electronics Communications Act (2009), Act 775.
According to NCA, all it did was to enforce the rules and apply the requisite sanctions to defaulting companies as specified by law. An official of NCA said, “if those given those frequencies do not respect the rules should we just leave it to God and wring our hands? No.”
According to the member of the Board, they are committed to making Ghana’s laws work and build strong institutions.
“We don’t care whose ox is gored but the law should be no respecter of persons,” he said.
Though the National Democratic Congress has raised concerns of a witchhunt of pro-opposition stations, the source said,” the law knows no political party or person. It’s the law. They should tell us whether we are right or wrong in relations to the law.”
Thirty-four of them have already had their licenses revoked by the NCA for not renewing them even after several notices. Owners of the radio stations sanctioned for operating with expired licenses, among others, will have to cough up about GHc1.18 billion. Already, some civil society organizations have applauded and called for support for the NCA’s action.
IMANI Africa President, Franklin Cudjoe, believes Ghana would be better of if other state institutions went by the book in the manner the National Communications Authority’s (NCA) has done in its sanctioning of 131 radio stations, for various offenses.
He said it was “a wakeup call and I suspect if every institution is doing that, without any political motive, it’s the best way to go.”
“What was the previous NCA doing that this new NCA wants to undo? It speaks volumes of the professionalism of the current NCA and its management,” he observed, given that some of the stations were found to have been operating illegally for over 15 years.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
