News
Withdraw request for GBC to abandon 3 channels on DTT platform – GJA
The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) yesterday called for the immediate withdrawal of the directive, requesting the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to abandon three of its six channels on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DDT) platform.
In a statement issued by the association in Accra on Monday, July 20 and signed by the president of GJA, Mr Roland Affail Monney, it said that, the directive contravenes constitutional provisions and would endanger the activities of the station.
“It is the view of the GJA that the directive will significantly impact on the operations of the GBC and amount to interference by government in the work of the state owned media,” the statement said.
“This is against the provisions of Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution,” it added.
The directive by the Communications Minister has the potential of curtailing the operations of media houses, particularly a state owned media, which the constitution has specifically asked to be insulated from governmental control by a constitutional body.
The mother body for journalists in the country, GJA has therefore, demanded that the directive by the Ministry of Communications to GBC and other media houses on their channels on the DTT platform be brought to a halt with immediate effect.
Accordingly, the GJA has called on the National Media Commission (NMC) and all relevant stakeholders to ensure all concerns over the DDT platform be ironed out.
Meanwhile, the GJA has also urged for a long term solution to this and any other issues confronting the highly sensitive media industry is for Ghana to attach utmost urgency to the enactment of a broadcasting law.
In the manner, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has also raised concern over the same directive by the Minister of Communications, and called on President Akufo-Addo to revoke the order should the sector minster fail to do so.
In a press release by the foundation copied to the Ghanaian Times, the foundation mentioned that, instruction by the minister contravenes constitutional and regulatory provisions on the autonomy of the state broadcaster and also undermines media pluralism.
“The foundation also stated that, the directive was counterproductive, as the president has relied on the GBC channels in delivering his periodic updates on the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.
The foundation has since called on the regulator of the Ghanaian media landscape, the NMC to expedite efforts in ensuring that, the state broadcaster is insulated from any form of control.
“We also call on the NMC to assert its constitutional responsibility of insulating the state broadcaster from governmental interference and control,” the statement mentioned.
The Communications Minister, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful in a letter dated June 26, 2020, addressed to the Director General, Professor Amin Alhassan, asked the state broadcaster to reduce its six digital channels to three.
BY TIMES REPORTER
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana has signed a debt restructuring agreement with the Kingdom of Belgium as part of efforts to restore the country’s economic stability after the financial crisis that hit the nation in 2022 and 2023.
The Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, today disclosed that he signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Ghana.
He explained that Ghana experienced a very difficult period during the crisis, which forced the government at the time to declare a debt default.
However, he indicated that the country is now recovering and witnessing a significant economic turnaround.
According to him, stronger systems are also being put in place to ensure that Ghana does not return to such a situation again.
Dr Forson noted that the agreement with Belgium is the eighth deal Ghana has concluded with countries under the Official Creditor Committee as part of its external debt restructuring programme.
He expressed appreciation to the Government of Belgium for its support and partnership with Ghana during the process.
The Finance Minister thanked Carole van Eyll, Ambassador of Belgium to Ghana, for her role in strengthening relations between the two countries.
The agreement forms part of Ghana’s broader effort to restructure its external debts and stabilise the economy following the crisis.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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