The President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has directed Communications Minister, Hon. Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to suspend GBC DTT Directives.
A statement from the Office of the President signed by Eugene Arhin, Director of Communications, said the “President on Thursday, July 23, directed Ursula Owusu-Ekuful to suspend the implementation of the directives given to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), in connection with the reduction of GBC’s channels on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform, pending further consultation with stakeholders.”
The Minister of Communication, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in a letter on June 26, directed GBC to reduce its channels from six to three.
In a separate letter, she also ordered Crystal TV to limit its three channels on the DTT platform.
The Minister gave both media houses 60 days to comply with the directive.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful defended the order saying that it has become unsustainable for government to be covering the cost of GBC’s channels on the National Digital Terrestrial Television platform.
Unhappy with the directive, both media houses petitioned the National Media Commission to intervene.
Meanwhile, the National Media Commission (NMC), says the directive usurps its mandate, hence cannot be approved.
The NMC explained that the directive breaches provisions of the country’s constitution if it is allowed.
