Review 1971 Act that establish state-owned media - NMC

The National Media Commission (NMC) has proposed a review of the 1971 Act of Incorporation that guides the establishment of state owned media organisations.

This is because the commission thinks that some aspects of the operations of state-owned media, such as the appointments of Governing Boards by the NMC and certain procedures and regulations in the Companies Act of 1963 contradict.

For instance, according to the chairman of the NMC, Mr Kabral Blay-Amihere the status of the NMC as a possible shareholder at the annual general meeting of state owned media organisation was not clearly spelt.

Mr Blay-Amihere who raised the issue at the 10th Annual General Meeting of the Graphic Communications Group Limited in Accra on Thursday where GHȻ600,000 was recommended as dividend for the state, said the Graphic AGM, which the NMC have been attending do not fit with all the procedures and regulations in the Companies Act of 1963.

He observed that taking into consideration the AGM as demanded by the Companies Code, it was the government represented by the Ministry of Finance which was the only accredited shareholder at the AGM as per the instrument of incorporation dated 1999 that established Graphic Communications Group Limited.

Likewise, relations between the NMC and the Ministry of Finance have equally not been defined for any fruitful deliberations.

Following from this Mr Blay-Amihere said there were contradictions and anomalies between the instruments and acts of incorporation of state-owned media vis-à-vis the provisions under Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution that empowers the NMC to appoint governing boards.

He proposed that going forward, the NMC in consultation with other stakeholders, would have to review such instruments which date to 1971 with broad consultation involving all stakeholders and with regard to imperatives under the 1992 Constitution.

Explaining further, he said for instance whilst Graphic Communications Group Limited took the step of transforming itself as a limited liability company in 1999, it is the 1971 Act of Incorporation that guides the establishment of its governing board with regard to numbers and not the Regulations of 1999.

“I am informed the transformation of Graphic into its current status was not done with the involvement of all stakeholders, particularly the NMC, hence the existence of some contradictions”.

Payment of Dividend

The NMC chairman said at a time when many state enterprises were not doing that well it was good news and refreshing that Graphic was in a better position to pay annual dividends.

He said although in the year 2013 Graphic was going to make the headlines for paying such a high dividend of GHȻ600,000 to the state, the company has had to seek just a few weeks ago, a bank overdraft almost three times what it was paying to government - GHC 1,600,000 to settle redundancy claims.

Additionally old debts secured to purchase its modern machines are being serviced.

The Chairman of the NMC reiterated a suggestion for the use of the annual dividend paid to government by the GCCL for the development of the media in the country.

He said some of the dividends Graphic pays could be re-invested in such a project, a project the major stakeholders in Graphic cannot disapprove.

“In my view the discussion must begin on how the state-owned media could invest some of its profits in capacity building that will ensure its independence and effectiveness”.

The NMC chair maintained that Broadcasting Bill which is still-born, captures this consideration when it proposes a Broadcasting Fund that will be funded by contribution  and levies from the electronic media to assist in the development of the industry.

“The question being asked here is how much of the dividends Graphic pays every year goes to strengthen Graphic and the other media. I challenge the Board of Directors of Graphic to give full consideration to the matter in consultation with all stakeholders”.

Mr Blay-Amihere said whilst Graphic was fulfilling its obligations to government, “it may interest you to know that government or many departments under the government owe Graphic about the same amount it is paying as dividend. In fact the indebtedness of Government departments to Graphic is far above the dividend declared for 2012”.

He said it was important that companies in which the state has a stake work on sound financial basis in order to become self-sufficient and even reach a position where they can pay dividends; but in the case of the state-owned media their relevance and  functionality cannot be determined solely by how much profit they make or dividend they pay.

Ultimately they shall be assessed by how effective and faithful they are in fulfilling their constitutional duties. In this regard serious consideration must be given to the application of their profits and dividends towards their empowerment and capacity, Mr Blay-Amihere said.

He when the NMC engaged with the state-owned media to review the report of the NMC's Monitoring for the 2012 elections which showed the state-owned media were not giving all the parties equal coverage as ordered by the Constitution, one explanation given by representatives of some of the state-owned media for the imbalance, was the lack of adequate resources and logistics.

He commended the board, management and staff of Graphic for the remarkable growth in the company's cash matters as captured in the report.

He said the government should be happy that the Board of Directors have recommended a significant amount of GHȻ600,000 to be paid as divided for 2012.

The financial indicators in the 2012 report and the recent rebranding of the Daily Graphic, your flagship publication can only mirror the positive strides you are making.

Story: Enoch Darfah Frimpong / Graphic.com.gh / Ghana

Writer’s email: enoch.frimpong@graphic.com.gh