We knew this would happen – NMC executive secretary on Oyerepa Fm’s incident
Executive Director of the National Media Commission, Mr George Sarpong has expressed fears that impasses between media entities and traditional authorities could get worse if it is not checked.
Though he pointed out that this is not the first time the NMC has had such a case in its hands citing the recent case involving Oyerepa FM and the Kumasi Traditional Council he indicated that “this is where the effective regulatory system gives you the signal”.
He said they anticipated this incident happening and had written to caution Oyerepa FM.
According to him, the best way to curb such instances is the introduction of the media regulatory framework LI 2224 which requires electronic media owners to seek content approval from the National Media Commission (NMC) before publication which unfortunately got quashed by the Apex court in 2016 following a complaint by the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA).
GIBA contended that its members were likely to be prosecuted and suffer imprisonment even before the case was determined by the court when the bill is passed into law.
Mr Sarpong per his observation of such occurrences in the media landscape predicted that this is not going to be the last time such incident will occur, reiterating the need for legal powers for the Commission to monitor the media terrain and address such occurrences.
Oyerepa FM’s incident is the latest but not the only one. Quite recently, Radio Ada was restricted from covering the annual festival Asafotufiam due to an impasse between the station and the Ada traditional authorities. The incidents have raised questions of media freedom and whether the Ghanaian media is progressing in that regard.
