Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful
The Minister for Communications, Ursula Owusu-Ekufful, has justified the decision to shutdown three channels belonging to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC.
The minister in a letter to the Director-General for the state broadcaster explained the move is to free up space on the DTT platform which she argues is full.
But management and board of GBC have taken issue with the directive compelling them to run to the National Media Commission for redress.
The GBC has six channels on the DDT Platform and the Communications Minister is asking the state broadcaster to consolidate their channels to three.
The minority through its member of Communications Committee Samuel Nartey George has accused the minister of stampeding the work of the state broadcaster.
But speaking to the media the communications minister explained she is well within her rights to take the decision aimed at freeing up space and reducing for maintenance of the DTT platform.
According to her, the NMC cannot compel the ministry to take back the directive.
“The fact still remains that the sole multi channel through which broadcasting can be transmitted in this country for now is full to capacity, there is absolutely no redundancy on it, for us as a country it is dangerous to be in this situation.
“Pending the acquisition of an additional multiplex which will provide for more capacity on that and it has absolutely nothing to do with spectrum…it is the multiplex which has capacity challenges and not spectrum and until such time as we acquire an additional multiplex to provide channels for broadcasting in this country, we have no other means of doing so and so a responsible ministry in a responsible government has take the only means available to it at this time to sit with those who have excess capacity on that multiplex to cede some of it for the security of our own state.”