The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association has called for a review of the National Communications Authority (NCA) penalties for defaulting media houses, which failed to renew their licenses or pay their regulatory fees.

The call by the Association follows the shutdown of Radio Gold and Radio XYZ by the NCA a few days ago, over the claims that they were operating without valid authorization.

The action, according to the NCA, is an enforcement of the decision of the Electronic Communication Tribunal, which includes closing down of radio stations operating without valid authorization.

Some have read political meaning into the closure of the radio stations with management of Radio Gold, contesting the bases for the shutdown. They indicated that they had engaged the NCA to correct the challenge with their licenses.

Speaking on GBC current affairs programme The Talking Point, Executive Council Member of GIBA, Prince Harry Christal said a penalty of paying up to GH 10,0000 per day defaulting is too harsh and must be reviewed.

“We respect what they’ve done, they have a law before them and they have to work with the laws. But in this same instrument, we have to look at the loop holes that have been created in these laws.”

He added that the sanctions are supposed to distinguish between cruelty and chastising because “what we have as perception out there is that these radio stations owe GHS60 Million, GHS30 Million which is wrong because that is not what they owe.

“What they owe is to renew their licenses and I think is nothing more than GH 60, 0000 to renew an authorization…. But it is the sanctions imposed on them that rolled the amount to that level,”

He added that pecuniary penalties should not be a death penalty. He indicated that closing down the radio station is not the best way to solve challenges.

“I will have given a fuller percentage more than a 100% to the current administration for the reforms they are doing. But in doing so you don’t cut the information flow because 25 years on since 1994,there was a debate during the era of formulating these regulations, whether there should be estimation of authorization,” he noted.

He explained that in clamping down on illegally operating radio stations, the solution is not about closing them.

He appealed to the NCA and to the President of the nation to relook at the decision taken.

NCA Nana Defie Bedu on 35 stations closed down

The Director Consumer and Corporate Affairs of the National Communication Authority (NCA) Nana Defie Bedu, said 35 other stations have been closed down across the country.

“From 2017 since we did the audit and completed the audit to date, over 35 stations have been shut down as a result of the audit,” she said.

She added that the audit is still ongoing. The reason for not publishing the shutdown stations is because there are various issues of offense.

“There are some that because they haven’t paid their annual regulatory fee has come to see us for settlement plans and we have actually had payment plans,” she noted adding that after the NCA is done with the actual implementation of the audit, they will announce the other stations.

Lawyer Tanko Cautions NCA

Lawyer and Lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism, Zacharia Tanko Musah, said while the NCA works to ensure compliance, it must bear in mind article 12 of the constitution to prevent creating the impression that its actions are targeted at proposition media houses.

“Whatever the NCA has to do would have to be done under what is stated under Chapter 12 of the Constitution,” he said.