By William
Yaw Owusu
Thursday
January 25, 2018
The
National Media Commission (NMC) has affirmed the decision by the board of the
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), asking its Director General, Dr. Akuffo
Annoff-Ntow, to proceed on leave with immediate effect.
The
decision last week sparked heated debate over whether or not the board has the
capacity to ask Dr Annoff-Ntow to step aside in the first place.
Media rights groups like Media Foundation for West
Africa (MFWA) and the Ghana Journalists’ Association (GJA) insisted that the
board does not have the power to ask the Director-General to proceed on leave,
but the NMC set the records straight yesterday, with a press release signed by
Nana Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, its chairman.
“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,” the statement said, adding, “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 licence
defaulters.”
According
to the statement, “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 assured 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.”
Last
week, the GBC Board Chairman, Rev Prof. Emmanuel Addo-Obeng, said Dr.
Anoff-Ntow had been asked to proceed on leave because of his poor handling of
the Television Licence Fee issue.
Prof. Addo-Obeng, a former Vice Chancellor of the
University of Cape Coast, said the decision asking Dr. Anoff-Ntow to step aside
was taken on Monday, January 15, adding that the regulator - NMC - had been
officially notified about the decision.
He said the extent of time for the Director General
to be on leave “will depend on consultation with NMC.”
“We are going to immediately engage NMC to discuss a
whole lot of issues affecting GBC and the future of the state broadcaster,” the
Board Chairman said on Radio Ghana
operated by the GBC.
He further explained that one board member and two
directors are supposed to steer the affairs of the corporation until the issues
are ironed out.
“We have put an interim management committee in
place with a board member and two directors of GBC to hold the fort while this
consultation goes on,” claimed the chairman.
The Divisional Union Chairman of GBC, Michael
Allotey, called for calm among the GBC staff, saying, “As a union we need to
engage our people, urging them to take it calm because it is a board decision
but we will meet properly to tell the world our position. I also take this
opportunity to urge workers to remain calm.”
Mr Allotey added, “Except that sometimes it is
challenging because the question is, after DG what next? GBC has a problem and
it has to be solved. I think it is time the nation decides what to do with the
national broadcaster. It is either they keep it as a private entity or we
continue to keep on the focus as a national broadcaster.”
The request by Dr. Anoff-Ntow to the office of the
Chief Justice to set up courts that will prosecute defaulters of TV Licence -
which was eventually approved - sparked outrage in the country.
In the ensuing heat, the GBC Director-General kept
shifting his position over what TV users were supposed to do.
Per Section 1(a) of the TV Licensing Act 1966 (NLCD
89), defaulters were expected to be prosecuted and when found guilty, were
supposed to pay a fine or serve an imprisonment term not exceeding one year;
but the GBC Board moved swiftly to stop the prosecution aspect under the Act.
The board urged the National Media Commission (NMC)
to explore a more sustainable funding module for the GBC.
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