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Minister-designate for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has stated that she is not responsible for the closure of opposition radio stations, Radio Gold and Muntie Fm.
According to her, contrary to popular claims, these FM stations were not politically targeted for closure because of their opposition to the ruling government.
The stations, she said, flouted the law and stressed had they not acted in contravention of the sector regulations they would not have been touched in any way.
“Nobody could have touched them or targeted them no matter how much you dislike or hate them. You couldn’t touch them because they would have been in compliance with the law,” she stated.
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Clarifying accusations that she targeted and closed down these two stations, the Minister-designate, during her vetting by the Appointments Committee of Parliament on Monday 15th February 2021 said, “Ursula has not closed down any radio station.
She indicated that the National Communication Authority (NCA) is mandated by Section 2 of the Electronic Communications Act 2008, Act 775 to regulate the radio spectrum allocated to broadcasting organisations in the provision of their services.
According to her, what she did when she assumed office was to charge the NCA to enforce the law.
Mrs. Ursula Owusu disclosed there are currently 625 authorized FM Stations in Ghana as of the end of 2020 with a total of 452 (72%) in operation and 172 (28%) not yet in operation.
She stated in 2017 the NCA conducted an audit exercise that indicated that 144 FM Stations had committed several infractions and needed to be sanctioned.
“At the end of the exercise, 56 stations were closed down. 43 resubmitted fresh applications for authorization out of which 30 have been processed and granted new authorization while 13 are still being processed,” she said.
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The Minister-designate indicated the NCA imposed fines on some of the affected stations but some chose to go to court, which decided the NCA acted wrongfully in imposing the fines on those that had not applied after expiration of their authorizations.
According to her, since the law does to allow such stations to operate the NCA was compelled to shut them down.
She argued that the closures were by operation of the law and therefore not an affront to the freedom of expression as being touted.
She stressed that the stations that flouted the law are also subject to the application of the sanctions and therefore nobody can imply the same is an infringement on the right of freedom of expression.
The Minister-designate stated that it was impossible to target any particular station for special treatment, besides the fact that she had no idea of their political leanings or their owners.
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FrontPageGhana.com/Ghana
