Let’s adhere to rules and regulations

Last Wednesday, the National Communications Authority (NCA) withdrew the licences of nine television stations that had failed to comply with the regulations of the authority.

Although the stations had licences from the NCA, they did not have the authorisation to broadcast, hence the decision to revoke their licences and an order for those stations to be taken off air.

Indeed, the NCA has explained that, as stipulated in Section 2(4) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008, (Act 775), “… a person shall not operate a broadcasting system or provide a broadcasting service without a frequency authorisation by the authority”.

The NCA also said it had observed that over a period a number of TV stations were operating over satellite in Ghana in the Ku Band frequency without authorisation from the authority.

According to the explanation given by the frequency regulatory body, even authorised broadcasting stations had also flouted some rules relating to third-party broadcasting.

While the Daily Graphic would not support any attempt to suppress press freedom in the country, we believe that the rules and regulations regarding the setting up of media entities need to be followed to the letter, as they are meant to streamline their activities and ensure some sanity in the industry.

An attempt, therefore, by any person or organisation to circumvent the rules for any reason should not be overlooked. We are even surprised that the NCA afforded the guilty parties a grace period after it had been detected last year that they were not playing by the rules.

Elsewhere, sanctions would have been applied immediately it was found that the regulations were being breached. However, due to our lack of respect for the law, we always think that we can overlook basic regulations and rules and go scot free.

The Daily Graphic commends the NCA for taking action against recalcitrant broadcasting stations who think they can make their own set of rules, although it was slow in applying the appropriate sanctions.

Rules and regulations are meant to put a check on the various sectors of  society and they must be made to work, else all the efforts that went into putting them together would count for nothing.

We urge other stakeholders, regulators and agencies of the media, such as the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), to rise to the occasion and bring erring members in line, so that sanity will prevail on our airwaves.

This even becomes more critical in this era of globalisation when all sorts of cultures are being imported into the country via television and when the country is preparing to go to the polls in November.

We should not compromise when it comes to enforcing the rules and regulations in such a sensitive area as television broadcast. 

We urge the NCA to take its whip to radio and other media too, so that we can have a sanitised and responsible media landscape.

The Daily Graphic urges the public and politicians not to see the action of the NCA as any form of victimisation, as we usually do in this country. We need not politicise this one too, while no one must be favoured, as the NCA cleans up our airwaves.