In a statement, the GJA said some of the arguments on the matter have been made without sound logic.

[contextly_sidebar id=”RSFiGvwQejkyItXf1ArV37cTezqEYCdb”]”The GJA is deeply concerned that some of the arguments advanced for or against the payment of TV License fee are founded on emotional effusions, rather than sound legal and empirical reasoning. Such approach and analysis will not enrich the debate for the betterment of the country.”

Concerns over the TV license regime followed the Chief Justice’s setting up of special TV license courts across the country to prosecute people who refuse to pay the mandatory TV license fees in line with the TV licensing Act.

Domestic TV users are to pay between GHc36 and GHc60 for one or more TV sets in a household, while TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between GHc60 to GHc240.

GBC still needs revenue

Despite the fact the TV License regime has been described as obsolete, the GJA also intimated that the GBC still needed to survive regardless, hence the need for the revenue.

“We appreciate the fact that the law on TV license fee, which was enacted 52 years ago at a time GBC enjoyed monopoly, may have been overtaken by technology and media pluralism, for which reason it may have to be amended. But we also believe that technological advancement and liberalisation of the broadcast industry do not by their sheer force, strip GBC of its character as a public broadcaster that requires financial oxygen such as TV license fee to survive,” the statement said.

While making a case for the GBC, the GJA also stressed the need for the national broadcaster to address issues having to do with quality content and programming.

“Although the law on TV License fee is not essentially about content, the need for quality public service content cannot be trivialized. We therefore urge the national broadcaster to endeavor to improve its content and the quality of its service,” the statement added.

Find the full statement below

GJA CALLS FOR DISPASSIONATE DEBATE ON PAYMENT OF TV LICENSE FEE

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has been following with keen interest the current debate on the payment of TV License fee to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). The debate, which began a few years ago, has been rekindled by the recent decision of the Chief Justice to designate special courts in the 10 regions of the country for the prosecution of defaulters of the law.

The payment of TV license fee in Ghana was established in 1966 by the Television Licensing Act, 1966 (NLCD 89). Since then, there have been many amendments to the law and regulations enacted for its implementation.

The GJA is deeply concerned that some of the arguments advanced for or against the payment of TV License fee are founded on emotional effusions, rather than sound legal and empirical reasoning. Such approach and analysis will not enrich the debate for the betterment of the country. It is, therefore, important for all to situate the issues of TV license fee in their proper contexts.

We appreciate the fact that the law on TV license fee, which was enacted 52 years ago at a time GBC enjoyed monopoly, may have been overtaken by technology and media pluralism, for which reason it may have to be amended. But we also believe that technological advancement and liberalisation of the broadcast industry do not by their sheer force, strip GBC of its character as a public broadcaster that requires financial oxygen such as TV license fee to survive.

Without a doubt, GBC has undertaken and continues to undertake good public service programmes in fulfillment of its mandate. Examples are the live telecast of the Supreme Court Election Petition hearings in 2013 and the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee sittings. Despite its shortcomings, GBC has the widest reach of all broadcast media in the country, serving the remotest parts.

The 1992 Constitution of Ghana, specifically Articles 55(11), (12) and 163, imposes some critical responsibilities on the state-owned media, including the GBC. In view of the need to discharge such overwhelming constitutional obligations (regardless of the current high density of media pluralism), and considering the precarious financial disposition of GBC, it will be proper to embrace the payment of TV license fee for the survival of the national broadcaster.

While making a case for the GBC, the GJA also appreciates the need for the national broadcaster to address critical concerns of the public regarding quality content and programming. Although the law on TV License fee is not essentially about content, the need for quality public service content cannot be trivialised. We therefore urge the national broadcaster to endeavour to improve its content and the quality of its service in order to acquire the social license that would encourage the payment of TV license fee.

Globally, there are many TV license regimes from which Ghana can take a cue to enrich the current debate. The US, UK, Japan, France, Germany, and Italy offer a variety of examples of funding mixes for public service broadcasting.

As a nation we, therefore, need to be very dispassionate in the current debate, deepen public education, stop the partisan twists and help establish a suitable funding mechanism which will sustain the GBC and financially empower it to serve the public interest better.

TO ALL MEDIA HOUSES

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mr. Akpablie was also picked an award for the Business and Economics reporting category.

The GJA took into consideration Mr. Akpablie’s stories on tensions stemming from salt mining in Adina, the relevance of oil palm industry through the lens of Dodze, the struggle of fishermen who have resorted to carting charcoal at the expense of the environment and a tourism feature on the Adaklu Mountain.

Mr. Akpablie has been working with Citi FM since 2014, operating from the southern part of the Volta Region, where he has led with high-profile stories in the areas of Agriculture, Tourism, Business and Economics, Health and Sanitation, among others.

He started journalism during his time at Ho Polytechnic with the campus radio (Volta Premier FM), combining his Telecommunications Engineering course with voluntary work at the station as a presenter and studio technician.

He also recently graduated from the Ghana Institute of Journalism with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Public Relations).

The awards ceremony was held in collaboration with Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) to honour deserving members who put in entries for the various categories.

The ceremony was the first of its kind to be held by a regional chapter of the GJA.

The categories for the awards were Agriculture, Education, Health, Business and Economics, Tourism, Disaster Management and Prevention, Sports, Sanitation, Crime and Court Reporting.

The awards night was graced by distinguished personalities including the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid and the Volta Regional Minister, Archibald Letsa.

A media fund for journalists in the region was also launched at the ceremony.

Find below the list of award winners

AGI/GJA Awards 2017

1. SANITATION – Ivy Setordzi

2. EDUCATION – TV Africa

3. DISASTER PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT – Sumaiya Salifou

4. HEALTH – Hubert Mawuli Yevu Agbi

5. TOURISM – Benjamin Atipo

6. AGRICULTURE – Duho Fred

7. COURT & CRIME – Charlotte Ablah Lumor

8. SPORTS – Tilda Elinam Acorlor

9. BUSINESS & ECONOMICS – King Norbert Akpablie

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The ceremony, which was the first of its kind in the country by a regional chapter of GJA, sought to celebrate hardworking members in the region and improve their relationship with key development partners.

In collaboration with Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Volta- GJA honoured deserving members who put in entries for the nine (9) categories of the awards announced in October 2017.

Ahead of the ceremony later that evening, members organized a health walk cum street procession in the morning in the regional capital, Ho.

The members clad in a uniform attire and led by the Volta Regional GJA Chairman, Anthony Bells Kafui Kanyi, begun the walk from the entrance of the Regional Hospital through some principal street,  and finally converged on the forecourt of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council.

Speaking to Citi News, the Chairman, Anthony Bells Kafui Kanyi, said the awards was aimed at, among other things,  improving the quality of work by practitioners in the region.

He added that the theme “Promoting industrialization of the Volta region: the role of the media” is apt, considering the immense role the media plays in stimulating the economy.

The awards night was graced by distinguished personalities including the Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, who would also launched a media fund for Journalists in the region.

The chairman for the ceremony, Kojo Yankah, is the founder of Africa University College of Communication (AUCC).

The categories for the awards were Agriculture, Education, Health, Business and Economics, Tourism, Disaster Management and Prevention.

Others are Sports, Sanitation, Crime and Court Reporting.

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By: King Nobert Akpabli/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking at the inauguration of the newly-elected GJA Executives and Awards Committee, he stated that, the union initiative, which has been criticized by some persons, has a specific goal to make the lives of journalists better.

“There is nothing 419 about our union baby which has been incubating since a resolution to that effect was passed during the term of my predecessor, Ransford Tetteh, on 10th December, 2013. …the point can hardly be articulated that unionization imposes a huge responsibility on us to meet at all costs the industrial and professional needs of journalists. We shall not flinch from achieving this twin objective.”

“Our immediate focus is on re-organisation of the chapters. … Other priority areas are investment and fund-raising, constitutional review, ethics and disciplinary council; as well as professional and welfare committees which will hopefully deliver change. The GJA constitution, in particular, is bleeding profusely from blatant violations of specific stipulations. The time to stanch that blood flow is now. Our policies and programs will never be Accra-centric but national in scope. Simply put, the regions shall receive their fair share of the GJA pie,” Mr Monney added.

Affail Money further charged the six newly-elected executives to put behind them all the “regrettable pickle into which we plunged this great union” while promising to “offer sacrificial leadership with utmost humility.”

Dr. Dartey, as Chairperson of the Awards Committee constituted for the 2017 GJA Awards, promised a clean, fair and transparent selection and awarding process.

“The one marker for success of the GJA Awards is integrity. Without integrity, the entire awards scheme goes down. The reputation of the committee members is critical. …on behalf of my committee, I am promising everyone gathered that we are going to do this work with the very highest level of integrity you can imagine …and we’ll give you some of the best of the best from the entries we’ve received,” she pledged.

The inauguration of the newly-elected GJA Executives and Awards Committee was held at the Ghana International Press Centre, and was attended by numerous journalists and media personnel from across the country.

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By: Akosua Ofewaa Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post GJA Union to better lives of journalists – Affail Monney appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The journalists, drawn from Accra and within Assin Fosu, were also schooled on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) to aid in their effective reportage of the nationwide menace.

The Deputy Country Coordinator of ICI, Prince Gyamfi, addressing the over twenty participating journalists, lamented the ineffective implementation of laws protecting children, citing politics as the major cause.

“The fact that Ghana has ratified various international conventions and enacted laws on the rights of children does not translate to the enjoyment of these laws in Ghana. There are thousands of children whose rights are being violated as these are our future leaders. We don’t have to continue to just make laws, we must ensure they work,” he said.

“Many politicians consider whether or not they would be voted for after they see to the enforcement of laws protecting children against child labour. Many of them also think child labour does not exist; yet these are the very people who must enforce the laws. Then again, the institutions and agencies mandated to enforce these laws are also weak. They lack the capacity and resources to do their work. So these are some of the things that prevent the implementation of these policies.” he added.

One of the participating journalists, Akosua of Rich FM in Assin Fosu, speaking to citifmonline.com after the workshop, said the program was helpful.

“This program has been very helpful to me in the sense that although I know about child labour, I didn’t really know the difference between child labour and child work, but now I know that,” she said.

Another journalist, Apostle, of Splash FM also in Assin Fosu, said ICI must be lauded for the workshop.

“The International Cocoa Initiative has really done well. They have taught us how we can report on child labour and we’ve been able to differentiate between child labour and child work,” he said.

A third journalist, Raissa, who is with the Ghanaian Times newspaper in Accra, stressed on the need for the government to play its role in the eradication of child labour throughout Ghana.

“This workshop has been very beneficial because despite the fact that I know what child labour is, I have realised how serious the issue is. I want to appeal to authorities to implement policies that will help reduce child labour in this country because having 1.9 million child labourers in Ghana alone is heart-breaking. Children are our future leaders and so it is very important that government addresses the issue of child labour in this country,” she said.

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By: Akosua Ofewaa Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The election was supposed to be held in March, 2017, but was postponed because of some unresolved disputes.

At the time, Lloyd Evans, who is also contesting for the presidential position, was appealing his disqualification, and some journalists were challenging the authority of Affail Monney and his executives to organize the election.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7q5i1ybgvG2nJLbv55PQfT28pUR1cYI9″]Lloyd Evans said at the time that he would resist the decision to disqualify him and has since been reinstated.

“The chances can be determined and will be determined by the voters, and I believe that I have done justice to my leadership mettle after only one term in office. For the first in the history of GJA, we’ve been able to unionize this Association, and what it means is that, the profile of media workers in Ghana will change for the better,” Affail Monney said to Citi News’ Farida Shaibu.

When asked about his reactions to the criticisms on how he has led the Association, he said, “I will not fault anybody for attacking or insulting me. I thank all those who have criticized me, some justifiable, some unjustifiable. Nana Akufo-Addo was the most insulted candidate in the history of this country and now he is occupying the first office of the land.”

Affail Monney believes that he has “unionized the GJA for the first time in the history of this country, we’ve also set up a GJA fund; after 5 years, contributors are eligible to get access to the fund and invest in any project of their choice” and that he has done enough to warrant a re-election.

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By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The workers remain resolute in their quest to prevent their Managing Director, Carol Annang, and members of the board from entering the premises.

Workers of New Times Corporation, responsible for the circulation of the Ghanaian Times Newspaper, on Monday embarked on a demonstration to protest what they termed as their poor working conditions.

Leaders of the workers Union are currently in a meeting with the staff over the matter.

The Chairperson of the Workers Union, Diana Bossu, spoke to Citi News and said the agitating workers were expecting the board members to meet them on the best way forward.

“… Unfortunately, the board members didn’t come. They went and held their own press conference somewhere because they never came to where we asked, that is our conference room. They never came here.”

The Board of Directors of the New Times Corporation described the protest as unfortunate and unwarranted in a press release on Monday, saying it was already engaging workers through their union representatives to find solutions their concerns.

But Diana Bossu indicated that, the workers were upset with the tone of the release, which misunderstood their grievances.

“The tone of the press release was not good for the entire workers because even though they were attacking the union, it is the entire workforce that says no; they are tired of being punished in such a way. If the board has anything to say, they could have come and called for a durbar.”

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) seems to be on the side of the workers and has urged the management of the New Times Corporation to meet the workers halfway and grant some of their easy to address demands.

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By: Naa Kwarmah Siaw-Marfo/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Speaking on Eyewitness News, he said the “management also has a responsibility to address the low-hanging fruit like promotions, like the investment of their providence fund.”

[contextly_sidebar id=”NanYtUcYn0DJioTo7XYPhAu4lqUVE0V1”]Workers of the New Times Corporation on Monday embarked on a demonstration to protest what they termed as poor working conditions.

The Board of Directors of the New Times Corporation, however described the protest as unfortunate and unwarranted as it was already engaging workers through their union representatives to find solutions their concerns.

“When we heard that the workers had laid down their tools, we dashed to the Times Corporation to solidarize with the workers to assure them that we stand by them and that we will also ensure that what is due them is given them,” Mr. Monney said.

He described the protest as a blow, given that the corporation is trying to turn around its fortunes after well-documented struggles.

Concerns abound that the workers of state corporations agitating against their management may be the problem in their respective organisations because their concerns transcend different management regimes, like instances at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation in recent times.

Mr. Monney said such points were “valid” but the immediate concern of the GJA was to ensure that Ghanaian Times newspaper was up and running.

“We don’t want to go into the nitty-gritties of what is happening there. Our main concern is for workers to get back to work and we have succeeded in persuading them that they will worsen their plight if they continue to lay down their tools and they reasoned with us.”

He stressed that it was the collective responsibility of both management and staff to come to a resolution.

“Our urgent appeal to both management and staff is to go back to the negotiation table and look at areas that they can easily address like promotions. How much does it take to address the issue of promotion?.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Meet angry Ghanaian Times workers’ halfway – GJA appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The Mission  hospitals on Tuesday began turning away the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) subscribers.

The decision is as a result of the inability of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) to pay CHAG health facilities’ outstanding bills for services rendered .

Reporting from the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital at Kwadaso in the Ashanti region, Citi FM’s Hawa Iddrisu reported that a 57 year old patient who visited the hospital was asked to go home since she could not afford her hospital bills.

Another lady stated that “I came here with my Health Insurance card but they are asking me to pay 30 cedis for just Malaria treatment because they are not accepting the NHIS cards again”

Hawa Iddrisu said the Hospital was virtually empty with just a handful of people around since the directive was given

Citi FMs Eastern regional correspondent, Kwame Appiah Kubi reports that pressure is mounting on government hospitals a day after mission hospitals decided to turn NHIS subscribers away.

According to him most patients are now turning to the few government hospitals within the region.

“The situation is creating congestion at the hospital’s Out Patient Department (OPD),” Appiah Kubi observed.

He reported that “a visit to the Koforidua Central and the Oda government hospital among others leaves no doubt that enormous pressure will be exerted on the hospital’s limited staff and resources during this period.”

He stated that residents are therefore calling on the NHIA to immediately engage in a dialogue with the service providers to address the problem.

By: Marian Efe Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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