Financial Analyst, Sydney Casely-Hayford, has called for the restructuring and subsequent privatisation of the Ghana Broadcasting Cooperation (GBC), as a solution to it’s seeming bias against opposition political parties in electioneering seasons.
Speaking on Citi FM’s The Big Issue, Mr. Casely-Hayford asserted that, Ghana would be better off without using the country’s taxes to pay for an entity that is viewed as a pro-government propaganda setup.
“If I have an opportunity to influence the future direction of GBC, I will just privatise it. I would sell it and stop this state bias that we have because the NDC will come in and they will use the GBC for their own intentions. The NPP comes in and they do the same as well so we are not getting anywhere.”
In his view, such an action should have been taken a long time ago as “we should not have a state institution that is paid for by the tax payers’ money and yet is biased towards one direction or the other or is controlled by the government in power.”
“Had we done that and gotten rid of the GBC propaganda apparatus a long time ago, we would have been better off,” the financial analyst stated.
Mr. Casely-Hayford’s remarks followed the Presidential Candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Akufo-Addo’s, justification for his decision to boycott the presidential debate, organized by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), and the GBC.
Speaking to Citi News’ Umaru Sanda Amadu on Citi TV’s Politicos, he explained that, he boycotted the debate because he felt both the NCCE and the GBC were biased.
“The state agencies that conducted these debates are not agents that have been particularly fair to some of us in opposition. GBC acts like a propaganda wing of the ruling party, so much also the NCCE. I do not see why in those circumstances I will say I am being given the fair crack of the whip and therefore come before such an audience,” The NPP flagbearer said.
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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana