The Board early last week asked Dr. Anorff-Ntow to proceed on leave following what it described as his poor handling of the TV license fee saga.

The duration of the leave, according to the Board, will depend on consultations with the NMC.

Background

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

Following the setting up of the special court, it was expected that defaulting TV owners or operators will be prosecuted per Section 1(a) of the TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89) with defaulters facing a fine or a prison term not exceeding one year.

But a statement from the Board stopped the prosecutions even before they occurred.

The Board also urged the National Media Commission (NMC) to explore a more sustainable funding module for the GBC.

During the back and forth, the GBC Director angered the public further when he suggested that persons who consumed TV content via smart phones were also going to pay the license fees.

Several pressure groups and civil society organisations kicked against the TV license regime, particularly the threat to use the court to ensure compliance.

In the midst of the arguments however, some individuals thronged GBC Revenue collection points to pay the fees. Regardless of this, the GBC Boss was asked to proceed on leave.

The statement from the NMC is below

DEVELOPMENTS AT GHANA BROADCASTING CORPORATION

The National Media Commission (NMC) has noted developments at the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and has been in communication with all the parties in the current dispute. It is the understanding of the Commission that the Director-General was directed by the GBC board to proceed on leave. The reason given by the board was to enable it to investigate matters relating to the setting up of courts to prosecute TV license defaulters.

The NMC recognizes the board’s authority to determine matters of leave relating to the Director-General. However, the Commission has directed the board to determine the matters before it and to report to the Commission within one month in order to inform NMC’s decisions relating to all the issues at stake.

In the interim, the NMC has also asked the GBC board to appoint an acting Director-General from within the management of the corporation in place of the current arrangement of an Interim Management Committee (IMC).

The Commission assures all parties and the public that the NMC remains committed to insulating the state-owned media from governmental control. At the same time, the commission shall at all times ensure that proper corporate governance principles pertain in all the state-owned media.

NANA KWASI GYAN-APENTENG

CHAIRMAN

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, if the NMC, which has constitutional oversight over GBC had taken sides and stated how the TV license fees should be implemented, the Director-General would not have been asked to proceed on leave with immediate effect.

The governing board of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation [GBC], has asked the Director-General of the Corporation, Dr. Akuffo Annof-Ntow to proceed on leave.

The directive according to the Board Chairman of GBC, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Addo-Obeng, was agreed upon on Monday, January 15, 2018, following his handling of the TV license issues.

Speaking on Eyewitness News  on Tuesday, Sulemana Braimah said he was surprised when he heard the Director-General had been relieved of his position by the Board, saying that to the best of his knowledge, the appointing authority which the NMC,  is responsible for such actions.

“I was particularly surprised when I heard the news about the DG being asked to proceed on a leave by the board, because the first question I asked myself is that, unlike other institutions where you have the board being the appointing authority, in this particular instance, it is NMC that is the appointing authority, so to what extent can we have the NMC appointing and the board of the corporation which in itself was constituted by the NMC being the one taking the decision to relieve the DG of his post, it is actually a convoluted matter and so far I am yet to hear the NMC position,” he said.

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.

Following the setting up of the special court, it was expected that defaulting TV owners or operators will be prosecuted per Section 1(a) of the TV licensing Act 1966 (NLCD 89) with defaulters facing a fine or a prison term not exceeding one year.

But a statement from the Board stopped the prosecution even before they occurred.

The board also urged the National Media Commission (NMC)  to explore a more sustainable funding module for the GBC.

During the back and forth, the GBC Director angered the public further when he suggested that persons who consumed TV content via smart phones were also going to pay the license fees.

Several pressure groups and civil society organisations kicked against the TV license regime, particularly the threat to use the court to ensure compliance.

In the midst of the arguments however, some individuals thronged GBC Revenue collection points to pay the fees.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonlinefm.com/Ghana

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They say they would want the court to give clarification on whether the Commission has the right to stop it from airing such content on free-to-air TV.

[contextly_sidebar id=”tWb5uA10DP8I1BYOP0FivxISyTXwx4fb”]The National Media Commission (NMC) on Thursday ordered Ice TV, TV XYZ and Thunder TVto immediately cease broadcast of pornographic materials.

This follows a petition to the Commission against the activity of the three channels by broadcasters James Oberko and Tommy Annan Forson.

The complainants said the act by the station was inappropriate. But the management of Ice TV insisted that, they had not breached any law in the airing the explicit content arguing that its broadcasts were often not during prime time.

The Chairman of the National Commission, Kwesi Gyan Apenteng, however, declared that the actions of Ice TV and the 2 other stations were a clear violation of its Broadcasting Guidelines.

“The National Media Commission has directed television stations XYZ TV, Thunder TV and Ice TV to cease forthwith the airing of pornographic materials on their television stations,” he said.

“Section 7 (e) of the NMC Broadcasting Guidelines provides that “Actual sexual intercourse between humans should at no time be transmitted…this provision does not admit of any “exceptions,” he added.

The General Manager of Ice TV, Samuel Owusu Asare, has told Citi News that, his outfit will abide by the directive, however it would want to ensure that it is fairly applied to ensure that any station that breaches the regulation is equally penalized.

“This order that has been given to us, we will abide it but we want to make sure that it is going to apply to all other TV stations. We will come back to seek more clarification from the court because you cannot tell us to stop showing pornographic materials and later on we’ll see other TV telecasting such materials, we wouldn’t take that kindly,” he said.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The stations, Ice TV, Thunder TV and TV XYZ were reported to the Commission and the Information Ministry by two broadcasters James Oberko and Tommy Annan Forson for airing pornographic movies on free-to-air television.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4M3VGWSud1d03PYOhYLc3qhKfM5enCcx”] The complainants were asking the National Media Commission to intervene to stop that act which they said was inappropriate.

The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, in a statement sighted by citifmonline.com said it has settled the complaints and has since directed the indicted stations to cease airing the pornographic materials.

“The National Media Commission has directed television stations XYZ TV, Thunder TV and Ice TV to cease forthwith the airing of pornographic materials on their television stations. The directive follows a complaint filed by Mr. James Oberko and Mr. Tommy Annan Forson against the stations,” the statement added.

The statement further noted that, “the Commission examined the broadcast of the three stations and concluded that the content complained about did not meet the standards of decency required by the Broadcasting Standards of the Commission.”

It added that the NMC found that the stations air materials that show “actual sexual intercourse between humans,” a development that flouts the NMC broadcasting guidelines.

“Section 7 (e) of the NMC Broadcasting Guidelines provides that “Actual sexual intercourse between humans should at no time be transmitted.”

The Commission said this provision does not admit of any “exceptions.”

Following the complaint, some of the indicted channels called the bluff of the complainants and the regulatory body, claiming their actions were within the remit of the law and were not ready to back down.

But according to the NMC’s statement, the three stations have apologized for their actions and have committed themselves to ceasing broadcast of pornographic movies.

“At the settlement meeting, the three stations apologised and committed themselves to ensuring that there would be no more pornography on their stations. They, however, drew the attention of the Commission to other radio and television stations which they considered to be carrying similarly offensive content. The Commission has cautioned broadcasting stations and other electronic communications networks to be particularly mindful of the implications of carrying any content which offends public sensibilities.”

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The NMC law was introduced to compel media owners to apply for content authorization, submit programme guide and content for approval or in default pay a fine or serve between two and five years jail term.

[contextly_sidebar id=”dvzGmwx2QuHAjeQ7GPgMfOOZXEzhnpLL”]The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), which was dissatisfied with the new regulations, filed a suit at the Supreme Court to strike out the new law, arguing that some of the regulations were an affront to freedom of speech and the rights and freedoms granted to the media under Article 162 of the 1992 Constitution.

In a unanimous decision in November 2016, a seven-member panel, led by Justice Akuffo, held that certain regulations in the NMC (Content Standards) Regulations 2015 (L.I. 2224) amounted to censorship and contravened Article 162 Clause (4) of the 1992 Constitution.

Justice Akuffo, explaining some aspects of the panel’s reasoning during the vetting, said they considered aspects of the NMC’s regulations to be too broad and only asked them to return to the court with specifics.

“The balance is that, in the matter against the media commission, regulations were being made which were over-broad without specificity and carried all kinds of sanctions, therefore, what we were calling on the commission to do was to go back to the drawing board.”

She further explained that, the court was only asking the NMC to go back to the “drawing board and be more specific.”

Review media regulations

Her comment comes in the wake of  a complaint against three television stations believed to be showing movies with pornographic scenes, which has reignited the debate on the need for standards, which will regulate the content churned out by various media houses.

A legal practitioner, Samuel Bartels, is one of such persons who argues that media content should be reviewed to effectively address the challenges associated with the evolution of broadcasting.

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The latest of these mind-boggling scenes on TV that made rounds was that of a so-called “doctor” advertising some medication, which itself is not wrong.

But this doctor appeared to insinuate that candidiasis progressed to gonorrhea and after a while developed into syphilis, hence the need for his medication.

It doesn’t end there. He proceeds to explain that the syphilis will erode one’s immune system and eventually develop into HIV.

The NMC’s attempts at tighter regulation were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court after a lawsuit by Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).

GIBA said its opposition was to the protect the fundamental rights of the media, as enshrined in the 1992 Constitution.

Watch the doctor in the video below

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

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According to the court, the regulation which requires media owners to apply for content authorisation, submit programme guide and content for approval or in default pay a fine or serve between two and five years in jail term, amounts to censorship, and is therefore unconstitutional.

[contextly_sidebar id=”jW0mRlkzCvWkWSBJFFZMHZ8XViGnva9X”]The justices further added that, the NMC was to provide guidelines and not sensor content.

The judgment follows a suit by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), which specifically prayed the apex court to expunge regulations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 22 of the NMC (Content Standards) Regulations 2015 (LI 2224), insisting that it was inconsistent with the 1992 Constitution which guarantees unfettered media freedom.

We’re not in court to embarrass NMC – GIBA

The President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Akwasi Agyeman, had explained that their decision to drag the National Media Commission (NMC) to the Supreme Court over the new media law, was not an attempt to embarrass the commission.

According to him, the move was to seek interpretation of some clauses in the new law which they disagreed with.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The committee, chaired by Prof. Dora Edu-Buandoh, the Provost of the College of Humanities and Legal Studies, University of Cape Coast (UCC), is to serve a two-year term with the mandate to help settle complaints by and or against the media.

They would also address all issues related to the media in the region.

The members of the committee include Mrs. Alice Tettey, the Regional Chairperson of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mrs. Doris Ashun, an Educationist and Women’s advocate, and Mr. Anthony Vincent Ananse, a language expert.

Others are Mr. Isaac Oscar Odoom, an Economist, author and lay preacher; Mr. John K. A. Simpson, a Former Headmaster of Mfantsipim School, Mr. Joseph Connel of St. Augustine’s College and Mr. Ato Duncan, Chairman of the Regional Civil Society Coalition.

The Central Region’s Committee brings to five the number of such bodies following those inaugurated in the Ashanti, Northern, Upper East and Volta regions.

Mr Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, the Chairman of the NMC, inaugurating the committee, said it was its responsibility to ensure that the media lived up to its crucial role and responsibilities to ensure peace before, during and after the elections.

The inauguration, he said, therefore, came at a time the Commission needed to re-focus its energies on its core mandates, especially as the 2016 General Election drew closer.

He said the NMC was hopeful that the media would rise to the occasion and help confirm to the world that Ghana’s democracy had matured.

Speaking on the Content Standard Authorisation Law being challenged by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) at the Supreme Court, Mr Gyan-Apenteng expressed optimism that the judgement would clear the path for its implementation.

He said the Court case had even created much awareness on the law and helped modify behaviour and strengthened the creation as well as dissemination of content.

“The media should to be alive to their call to exercise freedom with responsibility and abide by the rules and regulations of media practice and make conscious efforts to follow the ethical precepts in the election period,” he said.

“We live in a country whose media is largely free to publish what they want without let or hindrance. We cannot take this freedom for granted and we cannot allow it to be abused”.

Mr Gyan-Apenteng, therefore, called for support for the Committee.

Mr. Simpson, who served as the interim chairman, expressed gratitude to the NMC for the confidence reposed in them and pledged on behalf of the other members to work assiduously to achieve their objectives.

STAR-Ghana sponsored the NMC for the inauguration.

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Source: GNA

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The NLC had heard submissions from the Management and Board members of the GBC and the National and Local Union representative of the Public Services Workers Union over allegations of unfair labour practices.

[contextly_sidebar id=”Cev3M1Ul8eBXpcBL1WmVAMNPKBosrZW7″]The workers had accused the Board of micromanaging the affairs of the GBC and misappropriating internally generated funds by illegally employing directors without recourse to due process.

The workers thus vowed to protest until their demands for the dissolution of the Board of the Corporation was met. Some of them also became signatories to a document declaring the GBC board persona non grata.

But in a letter signed by the Executive Secretary of the NLC, Charles Bawaduah, ordered that “all red banners, inscriptions and writings and posters created or displayed by the workers against Management, the Directors and Board Members be cleared and removed with immediate effect.”

The NLC also ordered that the Directors and members of the Board be allowed to operate and perform their respective duties for the GBC “without hindrance by the workers.”

The National Union is to ensure compliance of these preliminary directives whilst Commissions handling of the matter has been adjourned to Wednesday, November 9, 2016 at 3:00 PM.

NMC clears GBC of any wrongdoing

The GBC workers union had also written to the National Media Commission (NMC) to dissolve their board after accusing it of “micromanaging the affairs of GBC.”

This was after the workers locked their board members out of the corporation’s premises following a resolution that was passed by the union barring members of the GBC board, chaired by Richard Kwame Asante, from entering the premises.

But the NMC cleared the governing board of the state broadcaster of any wrongdoing saying those allegations were unfounded.

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

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