A Senior Broadcast Journalist at the Multimedia Group’s JoyNews, Kwaku Asante, has proposed that the National Media Commission (NMC) be given the mandate to authorise broadcast frequencies and assign spectrum, a responsibility currently under the National Communications Authority (NCA).
Appearing before the Constitutional Review Committee in Accra on Tuesday, May 14, he argued that the current arrangement has made frequency allocation susceptible to political interference, given the NCA’s limited focus on media-related issues.
“When it comes to authorization, particularly in frequency allocation, I believe that mandate should be taken from the National Communications Authority (NCA),” he told the committee. “Over the years, the NCA has shifted focus to other areas, placing very little emphasis on media regulation. Frequency authorization has essentially become a tool for political control.”
The journalist, who reports from Parliament, noted that many lawmakers own media outlets and often struggle to retain or access frequency authorizations when they lose political power.
“I know that nearly half of the Members of Parliament own media houses. When they lose power, it becomes difficult for them to access authorizations unless they meet certain political conditions,” he said.
Kwaku Asante recommended that only the frequency authorization function be moved to the NMC, without merging the two institutions. He said the NMC, by its constitutional design and media-focused mandate, is better placed to regulate the broadcasting space fairly and professionally.
He also urged the Committee to consider the need to design a framework that allows for judicial review of decisions made by the NMC. While he expressed reservations about giving the Commission the power to summon or compel attendance, he emphasized the importance of legal checks on its decisions.
“We need to design a legal framework that allows decisions made by the National Media Commission to be appealed, for example, to the High Court. This would ensure that individuals who believe the NMC lacks the necessary expertise to handle certain matters have an alternative forum for redress,” he said.
Kwaku Asante, a Senior Journalist with the Multimedia Group Limited was among journalists who were invited to share their perspectives towards reviewing the 1992 Constitution of Ghana by the Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh led Constitutional Review Committee.
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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.
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