The federal government has been urged to prioritise the passage of the draft Broadcasting Invoice 2024 that has been in parliament for greater than a decade.
In accordance with Professor Kwame Karikari, a Media and Communication professional, the passage of the drafted invoice was vital to assist tackle challenges going through the counattempt’s rising and evolving media sector, particularly in neighborhood broadcasting.
Tracing the introduction of the broadcasting laws again to 1996, he stated it has been submitted to the assorted Parliaments within the Fourth Republic till the current handed eighth Parliament in 2024, and nonetheless not handed to legislation.
Talking at a high-level consultation assembly organised by the United Nations Schooling, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Ghana in Accra on Thursday, Prof. Karikari expressed disappointment over the media’s lack of urgency in pushing for the invoice.
The assembly introduced collectively representatives from the Ghana Impartial Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Nationwide Communications Authority (NCA), in addition to authorized and educational consultants to evaluate the invoice and look at its attainable impression on broadcasting in Ghana.
The nation’s broadcasting business has expanded considerably, with almost 600 radio stations, however he stated regulatory framework stays insufficient, failing to successfully tackle key points like frequency allocation, possession transparency, and content material regulation.
The Nation Consultant and Head of Workplace for UNESCO in Accra, Mr Edmond Moukala, stated the proposed legislation presents an opportunity to form broadcasting in keeping with the nation’s democratic targets.
He famous UNESCO has been working with stakeholders to enhance provisions that help neighborhood media, including that, Neighborhood media was understood to be a set of impartial, civil society-based media that function for social profit and never for revenue.
He acknowledged that media retailers present communities with entry to data and voice, facilitating community-level debate and public decision-making.
Regardless of media being on the core of freedom of expression, whether or not in search of, receiving, and imparting data, Mr Moukala stated Ghana lacked coherent laws within the broadcasting sector to enpositive fairness, variety and pluralism.
“Media pluralism is important for any democracy; extreme concentration of media possession can result in political seize by the ruling elite,” he added.
He identified elements that would contribute to insurance policies, legal guidelines and rules that allow neighborhood media improvement, together with clear and express recognition of neighborhood media as a definite sector, authorized and regulatory system that gives straightahead and clear processes for entry to the radio spectrum and coverage and authorized framework that has regard to sustainability and resourcing of neighborhood media.
A media advocate, Mr Samson Lardy Anyenini, steered modifications to the 2024 draft to higher defend neighborhood media.
He really helpful computerized tax exemptions, clear guidelines for neighborhood possession, and equal illustration of ladies in leadership positions.
“The 2024 draft invoice removes safeguards such because the ban on politically uncovered individuals proudly owning neighborhood stations. That have to be reinstated,” he underscored.
He additionally really helpful scrapping restrictions on promoting and offering monetary help to assist neighborhood stations stay operational.
BY CECILIA YADA LAGBA
