Clause to limit number of frequencies sparks controversy
A clause in the draft broadcasting bill limiting ownership of broadcasting frequencies to not more than three, yesterday generated a heated debate at a stakeholders’ forum to discuss the bill.
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On the one hand was the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) who vehemently opposed the provision while the National Media Commission (NMC) and others that favoured the limitation argued for the clause to be left unchanged.
In the absence of a broadcasting law in the country, room has been created where owners could acquire strings of frequencies.
The bill, when passed into law, would limit owners who currently have in excess of three frequencies to only three when they renew their licences.
What that means is that any owner with more than three frequencies ought to return the excess frequencies to the issuing authority or transfer ownership.
Transfer of ownership
However, even under the clause on transfer of ownership, the bill requires that such a move to transfer ownership ought to be communicated to the authority which would make a determination in 60 days.
The authority would, within that period, institute its own checks to establish the full identity of the prospective owner before sanctioning the transfer or otherwise.
Mr Akoto Ampaw, a legal expert on media law, had issues with section 88 clauses 1 and 2 which have to do with the power of the President in situations where a state of emergency is declared.
Clause one of that section says that in such a situation, if the President, in his opinion, thinks that broadcasting service operators in a geographic area ought to be told what to broadcast or made to refrain from broadcasting announcements, programmes or other materials, he could make such a declaration which was to be gazetted.
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But Mr Ampaw differed, opining that the provision smacked of arbitrariness and said there was the need to introduce a controlling clause that would say “insofar as it is not inconsistent with the Constitution”.
President’s power too intrusive
“Having the President to determine what people can say or not say is too intrusive,” he maintained.
He also expressed aversion to clause 2 of the same section that states that “the minister may give directions to a broadcasting service provider that the President considers necessary to meet the requirements of an emergency and the broadcasting service provider shall give effect to those directions”.
He described that clause as “very dangerous” and one that gave the Minister of Communications more powers even than the President.
After exhaustive deliberations, the Director of Newspapers of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, suggested that that clause should be amended to read that the minister would ensure that whatever the President declared were implemented.
Mr Ampaw was also of the view that when an applicant applied for a frequency and was denied by the issuing authority, the applicant should have recourse to the High Court for a judicial review.
Another concern that came up was the argument by Multichoice and GO TV that they did not originate content but only retailed and broadcast content from other countries and as such should not be subjected to the content regime of Ghana.
Regulating foreign content
Also, they are said to aver that in any case, their consumers knew the content of what they were purchasing but the Executive Secretary of the NMC Mr Goerge Sarpong said both arguments were untenable.
“It is just like saying someone buying cocaine knows what he was buying and should therefore, be allowed to buy it,” he said.
He said it was crucial to regulate content in order not to expose minors to harmful content that would undermine the cultural independence of the country, adding that the grounds for discrimination could be allowed.
“They should be able to provide some reasonable framework within which content can be regulated,” he opined.
The issue of using parental controls on television came up but that was flatly rejected by the forum spearheaded by the chairman for the function, Nene Mike Gizo, who said a good number of parents did not know how to operate the parental functions on television,wondering who would exercise parental control in situations where parents found themselves at work with the children left alone in the house.
Writer’s: victor.kwawukume@graphic.com.gh