Tax waivers for state media — A necessary investment in public service

In an era where access to reliable, accurate and timely information is both a right and a necessity, the role of state-owned media cannot be overstated.

These institutions—Graphic Communications Group Ltd. (GCGL), Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), the New Times Corporation (NTC) and the Ghana News Agency (GNA) — serve as pillars of Ghana’s democratic framework and guardians of the public interest.

They provide essential services that are not always commercially viable but are nonetheless critical to national development and civic education.

It is within this context that the recent call by the Minister of State for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, for tax waivers and exemptions for state media deserves not only attention but urgent action (Refer to Monday, June 16, 2025).  Addressing Parliament, the Minister laid bare the financial burden that these public institutions bear, especially in the face of stiff competition, outdated infrastructure and exorbitant import duties on essential operational equipment and inputs.

The GCGL, for instance, spends an estimated GH¢4.5 million on import duties and taxes annually just to acquire the basic inputs needed to print newspapers—newsprint, inks, machine parts and chemicals—all of which must be imported.

This amount excludes the taxes and duties paid by its subsidiary, GPak.

Unlike many private entities, GCGL is bound by public sector financial and procurement laws which significantly delay operations and inhibit quick adaptation to market demands.

The same challenge besets the GBC which not only carries a constitutional mandate to be present in all regional capitals but is now further stretched by the creation of six additional regions.

Yet, it does so without corresponding capital investment from the central government.

For over two decades, GBC has operated with ageing equipment, analogue infrastructure, and only one outside broadcasting van—which is nearly 20 years old.

The corporation is often forced to rent modern OB vans for national events at a prohibitive cost of up to $15,000 per day—an unsustainable practice for a public service institution.

This is not merely a matter of operational inconvenience—it is a matter of national interest.

The quality and reach of the state-owned media directly influence national cohesion, civic education and development monitoring.

Unlike private media houses, these institutions cannot cherry-pick their coverage based on profitability.

They are obligated to report from the most remote corners of Ghana, cover public hearings, and offer a platform to voices often ignored by commercial outlets. In a developing democracy, their role is indispensable.

The call for tax waivers, therefore, is not a plea for privilege but a demand for parity.

As Mr Kwakye Ofosu rightly queried, what tangible advantages do these institutions derive from their state-owned status if they are subject to the same—or worse—market pressures as their private counterparts, but with far less agility and autonomy?

The burden of import duties on essential equipment such as transmitters for GBC, printing machinery for NTC and newsprint for GCGL does not reflect a government committed to strengthening its own tools of public communication.

Moreover, the financial albatross is compounded by inherited debts, such as the GBC’s legacy electricity bill amounting to GH¢18.8 million—accrued largely due to unpaid utilities consumed by national security institutions and other state agencies that share GBC’s facilities.

It is unjust and counterproductive to saddle a public broadcaster with debts incurred through government usage, only to then expect efficiency, innovation and national coverage without the corresponding investment or relief.

The time has come for Parliament, the Ministry of Finance and the Ghana Revenue Authority to act decisively.

Tax waivers on essential imports for the state-owned media should not be treated as fiscal giveaways but as strategic investments in the nation’s information ecosystem.

Granting these exemptions will not only ease the immediate financial pressures but also allow these institutions to invest in digitisation, modernisation, and regional expansion—goals that are essential for relevance in today’s fast-paced media landscape.

In advocating this position, the Daily Graphic is not asking the state to mollycoddle inefficiency.

Rather, we are calling for a recognition of value.

A well-supported state media strengthens democracy, informs the citizenry, and reinforces the credibility of the nation’s governance infrastructure.

To continue starving these entities of the fiscal space they need to thrive is to undermine our collective progress.

Parliament must therefore lend its full support to the minister’s appeal.

Ghana cannot afford to have its public media incapacitated by outdated laws and strangled by unsustainable financial burdens.

If we truly believe in the power of the media as a force for development and democratic stability, then the time to act is now.