The Tribunal ordered that, pending the final determination of the case that had been brought before it by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the NCA must not apply the penalties imposed on the defaulting stations

[contextly_sidebar id=”Z6M769MWYAIYXXn1nqV8plJCdwMy33wg”]The President of GIBA, Andrew Anninkora, who confirmed the directive to Citi News said the decision was taken after the Association filed an application at the Tribunal on November 3, 2017, seeking redress for nine affected stations who are members of GIBA.

“We had filed an application at the tribunal, seeking some orders of the tribunal concerning situations that we believe needed to be sorted out. Therefore at the hearing today [Monday], the court set an injunction, and because the NCA could go ahead and shut down some radio stations, the tribunal felt that once a case had come before them, then the NCA would have to hold on with whatever action they wanted to take,” he said.

The NCA, however did not appear before the Tribunal for the ruling.

GIBA had earlier described the sanctions imposed on the stations as ‘harsh’, adding that the heavy sanctions could “affect the morale of others in doing legitimate business knowing the unpredictable terrain of business in Ghana”

And according to Andrew Anninkora, the decision taken by the Tribunal provides an opportunity for the Association to dialogue with the NCA over a possible revision of the sanctions handed to it members.

“As the President of GIBA, this gives us some respite. Again, we believe we will be able to go through whatever problems we are going through with the NCA. These are issues that we wanted to sit and discuss. We have a platform where we can discuss whatever differences we have,” he added.

Stations sanctioned

Back in September, some 131 radio stations, including Accra-based Radio Gold, Atlantis Radio and Radio XYZ, 3-FM, were either fined or had their licenses revoked by the National Communications Authority (NCA), following the completion of a nationwide FM Spectrum Audit.

Radio XYZ was fined GHc 4,090,000, Atinka FM GHc 14,800,000, while Radio Gold and Atlantis Radio picked up the heftiest fines with GHc 61,330,000 and GHc 60, 350,000 respectively.

Accra-based Okay FM and Kumasi-based Hello FM, both under the Despite group, were shut down briefly as a result of the failure to pay their fines.

However, in an act of leniency, the Ministry of Communications and the National Communications Authority (NCA), slashed the fines for the sanctioned commercial FM Broadcasting stations by 50 percent.

The stations were also given additional 30 days to pay the slashed fines, which has since elapsed.

Sanctions unconstitutional?

A number of persons, including National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George, had accused the National Communications Authority (NCA), of contravening certain constitutional provisions with the sanctions imposed on the stations.

According to the legislator, the NCA had reviewed the default sanctions for radio stations which fall foul of the regulations, without seeking Parliamentary approval, which he says is required per the Constitution.

He added that, despite being mandated by an Act of Parliament to impose fines and sanctions of any implicated media organisations, the Constitution requires that any amendments to the sanctions would need the approval of Parliament before implementation.

The Minister of Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, had earlier defended the NCA’s sanctions on the floor of Parliament, stating that the regulator’s actions were backed by law.

“Clause 2(1) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) further mandates the NCA to regulate the radio spectrum designated or allocated for use by broadcasting organisations and providers of broadcasting services in accordance with the standards and requirements of the International Telecommunications Union and its Radio Regulations as agreed to or adopted by the Republic,” she said.

“These provisions give the NCA the clear mandate to manage spectrum and issue, suspend or revoke frequency authorizations, and that is simply what they seek to do. ”

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to her, the fact that the NCA has received the petitions does not mean the affected stations would be reinstated, but their request would be reviewed on case by case basis.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TZa53wLCU6MTGnVZotBFNpCeW9wN3HNj”]Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful made the revelation when she appeared before Parliament to brief the House on the spectrum audit carried out by the National Communication Authority.

The National Communication Authority recently imposed various sanctions on 131 radio stations for flouting its  regulations with respect to the use of spectrum in the country.

The Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775) mandates the NCA to regulate the radio spectrum designated or allocated for use by broadcasting organisations and providers of broadcasting services in accordance with the standards and requirement of the International Telecommunication Union and its Radio Regulations as agreed to or adopted by the Republic.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful also stated that, where there was merit in the petition to reduce or amend the sanctions, the Ministry would work in consultation with the NCA to communicate that to the respective stations.

“The same law which gave the media the power to operate, is the same law which also gave the NCA power to sanction you,” she said.

Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said prior to 2015, the NCA had the power to impose any sanction at all they chose, but the schedule of penalties put a cap on how much they could impose per day which is GHC10,000.

She said, on hindsight, if Parliament thought the sanctions were too much, the House had the power to amend the law, adding that, until the law was amended or changed, it had to be applied as it was.

Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful also debunked claims by Samuel George, NDC Member of Parliament Ningo-Prampram, that the NCA did not have the power to impose any fees on their own ,and that it should have been brought to the House for determination.

She explained that the LI 1919 gave the NCA the power to impose any fees at all, and punish those who flouted the regulations, adding that the only thing they had to do was to publish the schedule of fees on their website and newspapers.

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Source: GNA

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They had defaulted in making payments for license fees, and were said to have been operating illegally according to a statement from the NCA in September 2017.

[contextly_sidebar id=”r3hAVk7o4srdvrNrtfFcSHYqyDiSVIxD”]The 30 day-window given to the stations to respond to the notice has elapsed.

Their managers have however disclosed to Citi News they are working to get back on air.

Okay FM and Hello FM were among the 131 stations that fell foul of Section 13 of the Electronics Communications Act (2009).

34 of the sanctioned stations had their licenses revoked because their authorizations had expired, and were operating illegally, whilst the others picked up over GHc1 billion in fines.

Radio Gold and Atlantis Radio picked up the heftiest fines of GHc 61,330,000 and GHc 60,350,000 respectively.

The sanctions have been criticized as being too harsh, with critics claiming that they amount to an attempt to monetize freedom of expression.

Critics like the National Democratic Congress (NCA) minority in Parliament, have cited the potential job losses that would result from the possible shutdowns of sanctioned stations.

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), had served notice it was going to rally to the defense of the sanctioned stations, but they are yet to take any concrete decisions in this regard.

Break down of 97 sanctioned stations

According to the NCA, eleven (11) radio stations have been requested to pay application fees for renewal of Authorisation, and also pay a fine in accordance with the NCA’s gazetted Schedule of Penalties for failure to apply 3 months before the expiry of Authorization within 30 days.

Two (2) radio stations have been asked to submit renewal application within 30 days.

Sixteen (16) radio stations have been asked to submit renewal application, pay application fees, and pay a fine in accordance with the Authority’s gazetted Schedule of Penalties within 30 days.

Twenty‐four (24) radio stations have been asked to submit omitted documents and pay a fine in accordance with the Authority’s gazetted Schedule of Penalties within 30 days.

Fifteen (15) radio stations will have their Authorisation processed after payment of fines in accordance with the Authority’s gazetted Schedule of Penalties.

One (1) radio station has been asked to settle its outstanding indebtedness before renewal of Authorization is considered.

Twenty (20) radio stations have been asked to settle their Provisional Authorization (renewal) fees which have been invalidated due to non‐payment within sixty days – to pay interest on due amount.

Eight (8) radio stations have been asked to pay a fine in accordance with the NCA’s gazette Schedule of Penalties before the authority conducts inspection as requested by the stations.

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

The post Okay FM, Hello FM off-air after NCA crackdown appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Tertiary institutions across the country are to extend their re-opening dates again in the wake of the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in four West African countries.

Source: Graphic Online

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This was revealed by the Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang when the Ministry took its turn at the “Meet the Press” series in Accra.

The decision was repealed after the Minister made a special submission to cabinet on why education institutions should be exempted.

Cabinet after consideration “has provided the exemption,” she said.

Government has earlier announced a decision to wean all government agencies off its budgetary allocation on utility subsidies.

School Representative Councils (SRCs) of the various public universities expressed their dissatisfaction at this decision and also threatened to demonstrate if the government did not rescind its decision by Thursday June 5, 2014.

According to the Education Minister, a meeting involving stakeholders was underway to find alternative means of paying the utility bills of the Public Universities.

“There is a meeting taking place between the ministry of finance and the relevant agencies to dialogue on innovative ways of meeting our bills” she said.

Meanwhile, the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has welcomed the government’s decision.

In an interview with Citi News, the President of NUGS, Samuel Darkwa Bimfoh said: “It is a welcoming development that the government through the ministry of education has finally come out to say that they are going to take care of the utility bills”.

By: Magdalene Larnyoh/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Tertiary Institutions excluded from paying utility bills appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.