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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 Speaker of Parliament Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin has met first term Members of Parliament to strengthen cooperation between his office and newly elected legislators.
The engagement was organised to help build better working relations and improve communication within the House.
Bagbin stressed the value of open interaction and mentioned that similar sessions will later involve continuing MPs, the media and the public through televised programmes.
He reiterated the 9th Parliament’s goal of promoting openness and inclusion, describing integrity, honesty, civility and participation as key values for national progress.
He encouraged the creation of a mentorship system to allow experienced members to guide new ones.
Bagbin reflected on the growth of Ghana’s legislature over the years, noting a shift from strong partisan conduct to a more mature multiparty atmosphere.
He urged MPs to maintain their party identity while working together for development.
Present at the meeting were the Clerk to Parliament Ebenezer Ahumah Djietror, the Deputy Majority Whip Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe and the Deputy Minority Leader Patricia Appiagyei.
By: Jacob Aggrey
The attention of the Ministry of the Interior has been drawn to information that the Special Prosecutor (OSP), Mr. Kissi Agyebeng, has survived two assassination attempts while discharging his duties to the Republic.
According to the ministry in a statement, the Director of Strategy, Research, and Communications at the Office of the Special Prosecutor, Mr. Samuel Appiah Darko, mentioned the assassination attempt on Newsfile, a television station in Accra, on December 6, 2025.
He also claimed on the same programme that he had been handcuffed and beaten by 17 police personnel.
“Beyond the security implications of these claims, such dangers to personnel of accountability institutions, if true, can undermine the government’s efforts to combat corruption, which have intensified since it took office,” the ministry stated,
The Ministry has therefore taken up the matter with the seriousness it deserves with some preliminary findings on the alleged assassination attempt.
The ministry revealed that initial contacts with Mr. Kissi Agyebeng have revealed that the assassination attempts on him, as claimed, happened before this year.
“There is no record or report of such threats against his life at any police station or at any of the state security agencies in the country,” the statement further added.
Against this backdrop, the Minister of Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak has further directed that “Since crime does not expire, the Ministry has ordered a full-scale investigation into the claim of assassination attempts.”
The Ministry has also ordered an investigation into the claim by Mr. Samuel Appiah Darko that he was handcuffed and beaten by 17 police personnel.
The Ministry noted that it will update the public on the outcome of these investigations and the actions to be taken.
The Ministry of Interior has reiterated its commitment to protecting all lives and properties to ensure that all Ghanaians can conduct their lawful affairs without any fear for their safety.
