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NCA approves licences for Radio Gold, XYZ, others

In 2019, the licences of the two pro-opposition radio stations and others were revoked over their refusal to pay operating licence fees

As first scooped by Asaase Radio, the National Communications Authority (NCA), has confirmed that its newly inaugurated governing board under the chairmanship of Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu, has approved new radio licence applications by Radio Gold, Radio XYZ and over one hundred others.

The Akufo-Addo government took obvious steps from 2017 to enforce the rules and regulations of the NCA. Radio Gold and Radio XYZ, two stations that are largely aligned to the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), were closed alongside many others that had refused for years to pay their operating licence fees and had flouted other obligations in line with their licences.

However, the opposition NDC and others saw the decision as discriminatory, questioning the governing party’s commitment to press freedom.

The NCA in 2017 insisted that freedom is best protected when rules of the game are respected by its key players. The authority defended the closures as “in line with Regulations 65(1) of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011, L. I. 1991, which states that “a person shall not use a radio frequency without authorization from the Authority”.

The National Communications Authority argued that it was simply enforcing its legitimate powers by shutting down FM radio stations which were operating without authorization.

Licence approvals

According to the NCA press release dated the 12th of October 2021, the governing board approved the applications at its meeting held on the 11th October, 2021.

New applications from entities FM radio stations which were closed down after the 2017 FM Audit such as, Radio Gold and Radio XYZ, as well as existing stations which applied for renewal of their expired FM Radio broadcasting authorizations are among the licenses which have been granted.

“This approval from the Board is subject to the applicants attending a sensitization workshop on the terms and conditions of FM radio broadcasting authorizations. The workshop shall clarify the legal, regulatory, and technical requirements for the establishment and operation of an FM Radio Broadcasting station” the press release stated.

“Provisional authorizations shall be issued to the successful applicants at the end of the workshop and frequencies shall be assigned to the applicants only upon the fulfillment of the conditions of the Provisional Authorization,” the NCA release further noted.

Governing board

The governing board of the National Communications Authority, chaired by Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu, the senior partner of the legal firm Minkah-Premo & Co, assumed office on 4 October 2021.

The Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, swore the new NCA board into office at the Authority’s headquarters in Accra.

The members of the governing board are Isaac Emmil Osei-Bonsu (chairman), Joe Anokye (director general of the NCA), Kwabena Adu Boahene, Alexander Nii Katey, Ama Pomaa Boateng (MP for Juaben), Patrick Boateng, Dr Eugene Owusu and Ama Daaku. The ninth member of the board is yet to be named.

Wilberforce Asare

Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand

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