The National Media Commission has prevented the Ministry of Communications from limiting the channels of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and Crystal TV on Ghana’s Digital Terrestrial Television platform.
According to the NMC, the directive usurps its mandate, hence cannot be approved.
The NMC also explained that the directive will breach provisions of the country’s constitution if it is allowed.
“The Commission wishes to state clearly that the directive given to GBC and Crystal TV by the Minister for Communications purports to usurp the constitutional mandate and authority of the National Media Commission and same cannot be obliged under our current constitutional dispensation,”
NMC said in a statement signed by its Chairman, Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafo, and sighted by Livingavenuegh.com
“It is the view of the Commission that any action by any entity which culminates into limiting or depriving the media of the use of public resources, legitimately allocated to them undermines their capacity to serve the nation as anticipated by the Constitution.”
It would be recalled that the Minister for Communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in a June 26 letter directed GBC to reduce its channels from six to three.
In a separate letter, she ordered Crystal TV to also limit its three channels on the DTT platform which was to be done by both media houses within 60 days for compliance.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful defended the order, noting that it had become unsustainable for the government to be covering the cost of GBC’s channels on the National Digital Terrestrial Television platform.
Unhappy with the directive, both media houses petitioned the National Media Commission to intervene.
