Appreciating state-owned media
When my roommate, President John Dramani Mahama, met the leadership of the Ghana Journalists Association on Friday, September 5, this year, he made a statement which resonates with a comment I made when I had the privilege to deliver the 74th Annual GBC lectures on July 31, 2009.
I noted, among other things then, that "There are implications in the programming pattern and content for a national broadcaster with the objectives of unifying and integrating our society. . .
We, therefore, need to understand and appreciate the challenges which confront a national broadcaster, which must reach out to all parts of the country, all sectors and interest groups because of our collective ownership of the facilities.
GBC
" The GBC is faced with the responsibility to provide the kind of news and programmes that everybody, or the majority of our people like, but which no one is prepared to pay for.
That makes the challenge daunting, especially in the absence of a national broadcasting law.
"The President notes significantly the fact that GBC bears the burden of bringing to the people, news and programmes that ensure inclusivity, but which private media houses would not spend their resources on because such programmes, for whatever they are worth, do not bring in money.
That is why we as a nation and people, must do all it takes to provide the resources that must be provided to enable GBC to satisfy and meet required national aspirations, but that is where we have over the years let down the national broadcaster, which must be empowered and retooled to serve as a proper public service electronic media house.
The Minister and Presidential Spokesperson, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, granted an interview to the GBC and underlined the fact that if GBC did not work to raise its financial requirements, the government is not willing or able to provide a single cedi beyond the budgetary allocation to the corporation.
Recently the Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communication toured the GBC and the Ghana News Agency, two state-owned media houses under the supervision of the National Media Commission, and a government department, Information Services Department.
Afterwards, the Chairman of the committee, Dr Abednego Azumah, granted an interview on Channel ONE Television and restated the fact that GBC must work to earn revenue for its operations, otherwise the government cannot provide additional funding.
Comments
Such comments coming from government functionaries present a confused state, a dysfunctional dichotomy, of wanting GBC to carry services to unite the nation at a cost that the state is reluctant to meet.
A major underlying fact which if not explained could poison the minds of the public and court avoidable displeasure for the GBC is that such individual cannot and must not claim to be ignorant that whatever amount government announces as the budget allocation for GBC includes the anticipated Internally Generated Fund to be earned, within the fiscal year by the corporation.
After incorporating the IGF of GBC into the budget, where and what should GBC do to earn extra income? It will be instructive to note that within Africa, such as South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Tanzania, the state funds and pays for all productions by the national public service electronic media house.
ore significantly and ironically, the nation, through government, is providing funds (for Parliament) to operate Parliament TV, Police TV, GES TV. There are even plans to establish Fire Service TV.
In 2007, Prof. Kwame Karikari, in presenting the 72nd Annual GBC lecture series, argued against Parliament establishing its own TV station since that responsibility could readily be performed by GBC with a dedicated channel.
The public funds spent on these splintered stations, if added to GBC to operate specialised channels, will ensure more efficient, effective, functional and purposeful expenditure of public money and build an enduring public service broadcasting house in the name of GBC.
Complaints
In the recent past, but for the insistence of the National Media Commission complaining to the National Communications Authority about the allocation of frequency to some public services, there would have been a plethora of them in operation.
Indeed, the NMC formally wrote to the Police Council, against an autonomous Police TV and argued that even if there was such a need, then the governance structure must be ceded to the NMC, the only body authorised by the 1992 Constitution to appoint directors and chief executive officers for state-owned media, since such an establishment is a media outlet owned by the state. Similarly, the NMC insists that it must control the governance of the National DTT system by appointing its chief executive and constituting the board of directors.
That has been the albatross hindering the changeover from analogue to digital.
Beyond the surface, there are a number of public institutions parasiting on GBC installations without any monetary contributions to the GBC for the maintenance of the facilities, including electricity cost because of incomprehensive public policies.
Yet the corporation is blamed for not making money. I found some of these anomalies when I toured all GBC installations throughout the country at first hand as chairman of the NMC.
Another area undermining the boost in IGF generation capacity of GBC is where the production of certain official public and government programmes is given on contract to private firms, although GBC has better quality production experience.
In situations where funding is provided, private companies are contracted to produce programmes for GBC to broadcast, but where there is no funding, GBC is saddled with the task of producing and broadcasting.
In such situations, beyond the loss of revenue to GBC, the corporation does not own such productions to be made readily available to the public in any future necessity.
There are instances where the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament paid for private streaming of its sittings but refused to pay anything to GBC for live coverage.
In my presentation on July 31, 2009, I noted ominously "For what is more painful for Ghanaians who use GBC TV to watch a World Cup qualifying match between Nigeria and Kenya but are denied first-hand viewing of the triumph of the Black Stars over Mali or to watch a repeat of the 2009 FIFA Confederation Cup finals between Brazil and the United States in Johannesburgh but denied access to the simultaneous transmission of the President Cup between Hearts of Oak and Eleven Wise in Accra on Republic Day".
What a doom prophecy as we witnessed on Monday, September 8, 2025, 16 years after my observation.
Ghanaians were denied the privilege of live coverage of the crucial Ghana-Mali World Cup duel in Accra but watched a repeat of preliminary matches of the Championship of African Nations in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
Only a few privileged watched the match on DSTv, which does not offer essential but a luxury service. What made it more tantalising was that GBC produced the match for global viewing.
What an anecdote of a brother or sister of Memuna, the legendary koose seller, who goes about begging for koose to buy whilst Memuna has so much of the product in stock.
As chairman of the NMC, when we met Nana Akufo-Addo, I made two requests on behalf of the state-owned media.
For the press, my request was for patronage and subscription of copies by all public agencies, including the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary, foreign missions, assemblies, ministries, departments and agencies with prompt payments.
If we want our activities to be published, then we must be committed to reading them.
For the electronic media, my request was for full payment of the electricity bills of GBC and the purchase of rights for live coverage of all national football team matches, including that of the Black Stars.
It is not too much, in my capacity as a senior citizen and former head of a constitutional body, to pass on the same charge to my Roommate President John Dramani Mahama.
