Thursday, 13th February, 2025
Hon Nana Asafo-Adjei Ayeh
Bosome Freho
Mr Speaker, I would like to thank you and the good people of Bosome Freho for allowing me to represent them. Today, 13th February, happens to be the World Radio Day, and I am reading this Statement on the floor of Parliament to commemorate this special day.
Mr Speaker, Hon Members of Parliament, I am honoured to stand before the House today in commemoration of the World Radio Day. The World Radio Day, observed annually on February 13, was proclaimed in 2011, by the Member States of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, as an International Day.
This global celebration recognises the transformative power of radio in promoting peace, tolerance, and understanding in today's world. Globally, radio has been a cornerstone of communication for over a century, providing a platform for information dissemination, education, and entertainment. In Ghana, radiobroadcasting dates back to 31st July 1935, with the establishment of Radio ZOY, the first state broadcast station with a primary mandate of playing liaison between the Crown and the Colony.
But over time, radio served a wider and a more significant role. By the 1940s, it had earned the accolade of being regarded as “theatre of the minds” because of the music, drama and news broadcasts it offered. Since then, radio has played a vital role in shaping our nation's history, from the struggle for independence, to being a mouthpiece for coup plotters and finally, becoming the voice of the people, which it is, to the present day.
Mr Speaker, our radio stations becoming a beacon of democracy of today, has however not been without a tussle. Prior to 2001, it was a criminal offence for a person to publish a defamatory or libelous statement about an identifiable person in the country. I am proud to state that on 27th July, 2001, championed by the former President Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo-Addo, who was the then Attorney-General of the Republic, Ghana's Parliament unanimously voted to change the Criminal Code (Repeal of the Criminal and Seditious Laws - Amendment Bill) Act 2001) — a law by which many journalists had previously been jailed for doing their job. Now libel cases are handled in the civil court, and the remedy for same is damages among other civil remedies.
I cannot address my submissions to your honorable self and the House, without referring to the significant contributions journalists on radio have made to our country. Aside being a focal point for the dissemination of information, they have provided a platform for citizens to engage in discussions, hold leaders accountable, and access critical information, which forms a critical aspect of a democratic nation like Ghana. Radio, I reiterate has become an indispensable tool for democratic participation, especially at the local level.
However, despite these contributions, there are challenges that we must acknowledge. Some journalists on radio have been known to perpetuate hate speech, propaganda, and deliberately misinforming the public on critical matters. These practices have the potential to incite violence, undermine national cohesion, and erode trust in our democratic institutions.
The growing cases of politically owned and affiliated radio stations, and more often than not, unfortunately, biased reportage and conveyance of information, erode the gains made by radio throughout the life of the country, as was stated earlier. To address these concerns, I urge radio stations to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, accuracy, and fairness in their reportage. As we celebrate World Radio Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to promoting a free, independent, and responsible media. Let us work together to ensure that radio continues to serve as a powerful tool for building a more informed, tolerant, and peaceful society.
Mr Speaker, to conclude, I must say that the radio's perpetuity in the face of the mass influx of social Media channels and platforms is a testament to the United Nation and UNESCO's commitment to set a day aside to celebrate radio.
Mr Speaker, I am grateful for the space granted.
Hon Haruna Iddrisu
Tamale South
Mr Speaker, let me thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the Statement made in honour of the World Radio Day, and to commend the maker of the Statement for bringing this matter to the fore.
It affords us an opportunity as Parliament—As guardians of human rights, what has been the role of the Parliament of Ghana in safeguarding the right to freedom of expression? At least today, Ghana can celebrate; we are comparable even to the United States of America (USA). The number of frequency modulation (FM) stations in Ghana today exceeds 300. The number of television stations also exceed 200. It means, this country has given room to the ventilation of ideas. I agree with him when he says Criminal Libel Law. Yes, the Law has been repealed, but we have Ahmed Hussein Suale and others who were murdered in the course of service. That is heavier, and that is what we all must commit—that tolerance.
Mr Speaker, that is why I am paraphrasing his words. The theme for today is “peace, tolerance, and understanding.” If there is tolerance, you would not have journalists being murdered. If there is tolerance, you would not have journalists being invited by the Crime Investigative Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service for comments that they have made. If there is tolerance, even Members of Parliament (MPs) would not be at each other's throats. So, tolerance in its true sense—
Mr Speaker, I have always said that Hon Asenso-Boakye’s right to speak, ends at my right not to listen. He has a right to speak, so if he speaks, I also choose not to listen. But with respect, I should recognise that he has a right to speak. What is lacking in Ghana is a broadcasting bill—I, with the Majority Leader, Mr Mahama Ayariga were still here. Far back a decade ago, when he was the Minister for Information, I forwarded to him a draft legislation to regulate broadcasting generally in Ghana. The parameters must be drawn.
Mr Speaker, take Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) for instance—Are they a state broadcaster? Are they a public broadcaster? We do not know— rural radio stations. Today, social media has become a toxic source of misinformation and people enjoy it. They enjoy some of the things we trade, running down reputation and integrity without due cause.
Today, we must celebrate World Radio Day. But I believe that it is about time—I am sure President John Dramani Mahama's new Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations should give it some attention. We need a broadcasting bill that defines who a state or public broadcaster is? GBC must be situated to be like British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). How is it financed? Then, we should have private broadcasters, like we do. The likes of Multimedia Group are doing very well today.
Then, on rural community radios—In some communities, what they enjoy is that—that is their opportunity. Even if the chief has an announcement, at least the radio station would be able to tell the community that the chief says that they should wear a mask because there is the threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It serves their purpose.
Mr Speaker, I commend him for bringing this matter to the fore. Then “peace”. The words—My mother used to say that “your tongue is like a bullet, when it fires out the word, you cannot arrest it again.” Even if you look at domestic conflicts, what husbands tell wives and otherwise—You say it and in a second, you regret, because your word becomes your bullet.
Mr Speaker, my mother used to advise me that I should maintain golden silence on matters, in the sense that you cannot interpret silence. Nobody can interpret silence. So, if you want peace, learn to be silent. If somebody is saying something you disagree with, keep silent. Maintain golden silence. We are talking about the political class. We run down each other every other day. There is no election tomorrow, and until the next four years, — but we are still talking as if we are politicking, and campaigning as if there is conduction of elections tomorrow.
Mr Speaker, let me commend the maker of the Statement and let him know that Ghana has made enormous progress. When you say you are commending only the former President, Nana Akufo-Addo, you must thank the former President Jerry John Rawlings who promulgated the 1993 Constitution. It is in there that those rights are guaranteed. What you call a “market women Constitution” is the Constitution that has given us those rights. It guarantees freedom of expression. Radio and television stations give us the platform to ventilate those expressions. Mr Speaker, what I am guided by in his Statement is that we all should be measured in what we say and be tolerant in what we do. Let us keep the unity and peace of our country even as we practise our democracy.
I commend the maker of the Statement and assure him that Ghana can celebrate like the USA, European Union (EU) or the United Kingdom (UK), that freedom of expression is guaranteed in our country and thisis democracy. Every Ghanaian— “ka bi ma me nka bi”, you say what you want. But, sometimes, when somebody makes a comment, the CID of the Ghana Police Service, invites them to come to their office to explain, and that they are under arrest. All that are threats to the fundamental human rights and freedom of expression. Article 167 of the Constitution guarantees the independence of the media.
Mr Speaker, I conclude with this, the National Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communications Authority (NCA) are a turf war—because who controls radio communication? Who allocates frequencies? It is not for nothing that in the Legislation, we said that the NMC must sit on the Board of the NCA. Because somebody provides the licence and somebody monitors the performance. This Parliament, we do not allocate good money for the NMC. Mr George Sarpong has always been crying during every budget hearing and even during election. When he needed money to monitor who is saying what or doing what—we do not provide adequate funding.
Finally, political interference. When the Constitution says “independence of the media”, intolerance—Let us respect it. Mr Speaker, thank you very much.
Hon Kingsley Nyarko
Kwadaso
Mr Speaker, I am grateful to you for the opportunity to add my voice to the Statement ably made by our Colleague, the Member of Parliament for Bosome Freho.
Mr Speaker, this is a very important Statement because it is at the core and centre of our democracy. Radio and other media outlets help us to shape our democracy and our societies, and to build our communities.
Radio provides us the opportunity to deepen our knowledge because the information that we receive from listening to the radio help us to live our lives better.
Mr Speaker, but we must also be very careful how we use radio; otherwise, this medium that helps us to live better and build our societies in a meaningful and efficient way, can also be used to our disadvantage, by creating anarchy and confusion in our society.
Mr Speaker, the issue of radio also brings about the menace of disinformation and misinformation. These twin words have devastating effects on societies and individuals when we spread disinformation and believe that the statements, comments and write-ups that we make are untrue, yet we propagate them. Others are also going to use it and spread this same information, that is misinformation, and it can undermine our integrity and our credibility and can also lead to destabilising our society.
We do not need that. We need information that builds and strengthens us.
Democracy can only thrive when we are dealing with information that is conducive to our well-being. People deliberately spread information that they know is false, but because of political capital, they revel in them because of the advantage that they are going to get. But they forget about its negative implications or consequences on us, as a society.
Mr Speaker, this country can burn and be destroyed if we do not control our radio stations and our media outlets effectively. We have taken so many years to build our democracy. Three decades of democracy on our continent is something we must revere. We have been to be able to do it, so why should we allow a few individuals to sit behind a console, on TV studio, and create anarchy and confusion in this country? We must stop it; that is why I support the idea of the Broadcasting Bill. There should be clear guidelines and regulations as to how—Even though freedom of speech is enshrined in our Constitution, it must come with responsibility and reasonableness in our communication, whether in speech or in writing. That is how we can build a very strong democracy.
Enough of the hate speeches. They do not build, but they destroy. If, through our speeches and words, this country is reduced to flames and ashes, where would we be? Where are we going to find solace? There are some people who do not even care, but some of us care because we believe that we have only one country, and that country is Ghana. It behoves all of us to ensure that we safeguard the tenets of our democracy and the future of our country through proper democratic practices. We can build our fortunes and build our fortunes well.
Mr Speaker, on that score, I want to pat the back of the maker of the Statement that we should ponder and reflect on this. As political players, in whatever we do, we must think about the country, and whatever we do, we must think about posterity. Let us be measured in what we say. We must be tolerant to each other’s perspectives; after all, somebody said that if we all think alike, it means somebody else is not thinking, and that is wrong. There will be diversity of opinions and of views; we must respect everybody’s opinion. If a person has a contrary opinion, he or she can express it, but it must be devoid of insult, insinuation, vulgar languages and speeches that can kill the soul of that individual.
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for indulging me, and I would be forever grateful to you for your indulgence.
Hon Abla Dzifa Gomashie
Ketu South
Thank you very much, and I join my colleagues to applaud the maker of the Statement. It is timely and it is useful.
Mr Speaker, when I sought to contest the parliamentary seat, a young fellow asked on radio if I did not know that my late husband would pass away, and I left him to campaign. This was said on radio, and I heard it with my own ears, and I thought whether that child was asking me to curse him or bless him.
The opportunity that we have with radio, like a two-edged sword, can build or destroy. It is for that reason that I stand this morning to comment on the Statement that has been made and to urge our young people that, indeed, one would reap what he sows, whether it is on radio, television, written on a Facebook page, on social media, or anywhere. They must remember that what they are saying today and doing today will not go away. It will be waiting for them as they grow.
Mr Speaker, I wonder how we, the politically exposed and the vulnerable in society, are planning to protect ourselves from the abuse of radio, television, and social media.I say this because in this era where we have artificial intelligence, our voices stand the risk of being used for what we have not said. It can be used to twist what we have said, and it is a bit scary. There has to be a way in which we sanitise the system and in that score, I want to join the former Minority Leader and Hon Minister for Education when he calls for the Broadcast Bill. If we do not work on it as fast as we can, we stand the risk of being the victims.
Mr Speaker, moving on, I would also like to say that it is not in every community that we have radio reaching the people who vote for us. I hope that the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations would read about this or hear about it and promote the smaller community radios that do broadcasting in our rural areas. I am a Member of Parliament for a rural area, and I see the use and the benefits for those who have invested their small money in these tube-like metal things that carry messages very far into the community, so that they can be abreast of what we discuss here and also benefit from what radio can do.
When I was growing up, I interned at Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) under the late Carl Agyeman Bannerman, and one of the songs that was played during that time would be Radio Gets Results. Indeed, if radio gets results, what kinds of things are we saying on radio today to get the results that we want? Radio gives us opportunity to educate, inform, and entertain, but we have reduced what is positive, and are using the radio that should get results into doing things that malign, vilify and just tarnish the image of people who have worked hard for our country.
This Statement is in the right direction, and I celebrate the maker of the Statement and all who have contributed to it, and I thank you for the opportunity, Mr Speaker.
Hon Matthew Nyindam
Kpandai
Thank you, Mr Speaker, for this opportunity to add my voice to the Statement.
Mr Speaker, I think as a nation, we all agree that radio or media in general is playing a very critical role in our lives. Without them, this country would be in darkness. So, the role of radio cannot be underestimated. But Mr Speaker, we must also try as much as possible to ask ourselves that today, the kinds of things that we hear, the content, is that what we are celebrating? Obviously not.
Mr Speaker, today if a person has a radio station or even a TV station and the host or the one handling that particular programme is not very good at insulting, very few people would listen to him. Mr Speaker, that is not the kind of celebration we are calling for. Mr Speaker, if we are not lucky, very soon, the good ones among them would also start giving us the content that all of us would not be happy with.
Mr Speaker, if they pick a person today, they would insult the person from morning to evening. The next day they would drop it and bring another personality. If it is NDC that they are insulting today, we think that they are doing very well. The next day when they are done with NDC, they come back to NPP. That is not the kind of radio we encourage.
Mr Speaker, I therefore want to say we agree. Like the Minister for Education said, we have more than 300 radio stations in this country, and it is a very good idea, but the content that they give us sometimes is problematic. Mr Speaker, thank you for the opportunity.
Hon Clement Abas Apaak
Builsa South
Mr Speaker, I am most grateful.
Mr Speaker, let me commend the maker of the Statement for drawing our collective attention to both the benefits of radio as well as the dangers associated with radio.
Mr Speaker, I comment on this topic both as a practitioner and as somebody who has managed a radio station before. Many may not be aware, but I belong to the first generation of the University of Ghana students who volunteered for our now legendary radio station known as Radio Universe. In my travels abroad, I continued to pursue radio. Studying for my PhD at Simon Fraser University, I volunteered to produce and host a very popular programme known as African Connection. On my return to Ghana and upon taking up my teaching appointment at the University of Ghana, I was appointed as the manager of Radio Universe.
Mr Speaker, radio is a very powerful tool. When rightly used, it benefits society. When wrongly used, it can set society ablaze. I believe many of us in this Chamber have read about or can remember the Rwandan genocide. Almost every commentator or the witnesses, some of the surviving victims, attest to the fact that that genocide was promoted and executed through the use of radio.
Mr Speaker, in our own homeland, it is worrisome, but the truth ought to be stated, that some radio stations are notorious for being extreme in the nature of their programmes, as well as the type of panelists that are deployed. I would not want to mention names.
Mr Speaker, but more importantly, we cannot speak about radio without talking about how poorly practitioners and journalists are treated. Remuneration is nothing to write home about. Many of them do not even earn the basic minimum required to live a decent life. This then makes them vulnerable to payolas and political influencers to do their bidding for pittance. So, as we discuss radio and we talk about the positives and hope to highlight the positives, we cannot forget to advocate that practitioners and owners of media houses do the needful by giving them sustenance, so that they can be independent and report genuinely and honestly what is important to society and continue to keep us glued together by giving us positive perspectives. On this note, I again commend the maker of the Statement.
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Hon Davis Ansah Opoku
Mpraeso
Mr Speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to add my voice to this wonderful Statement ably made by my Colleague, Hon Asafo-Adjei.
Mr Speaker, indeed, radio is the heartbeat of our democracy, and that is why on this very day, we must reflect on the fundamental role that it plays in our society.
Mr Speaker, radio helps in promoting access to information. It helps in the freedom of expression and our democratic governance. That is why if you look at the theme for this year, it underscores the importance of free, independent, and diverse media landscape.
Mr Speaker, I have always maintained that if you look at the number of radio stations that we currently have in our country, I mean, just like Hon Haruna Iddrisu said, we have over 300 radio stations. It has created a valve where Ghanaians who feel peeved and have worries about the political class, could have a medium to express themselves.
Mr Speaker, this has contributed immensely to the political stability that we are witnessing in Ghana. Mr Speaker, yesterday, Wednesday, 12th February 2025, the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovations and the media advisory said that they have authorised the National Communications Authority (NCA) to furnish the Minister’s office with a list of all frequency authorisations issued or renewed in the last 60 days. Mr Speaker, clearly, it’s important for us to draw the attention of the Hon Minister that it needs to be measured in its approach. Mr Speaker, the independence of the National Communications Authority cannot be underestimated. We ought to be careful as a country. I really do not see why a Minister would issue a statement that frequencies issued in the last 60 days should come under audit. I really do not understand. He did not give further directives, but I am just cautioning the young Minister to be very careful.
Mr Speaker, NCA’s issuance of spectrum allocations is governed by an Act that was enacted in this very House, the Electronics Communications Act 2008 (Act 775).
Mr Speaker, I wish to draw the attention of the Hon Minister to Section 13 — Section 9 of the Act that talks about the independence of the NCA, which says that the NCA shall not subject to the direction or control of any person or authority except as provided by law.
Mr Speaker, the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations cannot unilaterally dictate operations and regulatory decisions. Clearly, the young Minister must be mindful of the path he is taking. We were in this country when licences of radio stations were revoked; we saw what really transpired; the brouhaha and the noise that erupted in our country. We do not want to get to that part.
Ghana is advancing in democracy; Ghana is developing, and it is important that it be measured. We are looking and monitoring, and I think it is important that as a Member of Parliament, I draw his attention to the path he has taken. Protecting radio frequencies in this country is protecting our democracy. Let us not use National Communications Authority (NCA), that needs to be independent, to score political points.
Mr Speaker, with these few words, I commend the maker of this Statement, and I pray that we issue more licences and get to the stage where even the fee that people pay for radio licences is reduced minimally, so that every constituency in this country could have one radio station. [Hear! Hear!] At least, one constituency, one radio station, which would help in the dissemination of information to our good people.
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for this great opportunity.
Hon Jerry Ahmed Shaib
Weija-Gbawe
Mr Speaker, the maker of the Statement is someone I highly commend for making such an important Statement.
Mr Speaker, unless I am not too clear, but I know that the theme for this World Radio Day 2025 is “Radio and Climate Change”; that is the theme I have. Mr Speaker, it goes to buttress the point that radio is a very powerful tool. We need radio for dissemination of information, education, and entertainment. There have been several good works done by radio presenters, but we have really not paid attention to these people.
Mr Speaker, one that comes to mind readily is the departed soul who is resting with the Lord, Mr Komla Dumor. He made us understand that radio can bring in a lot of good stuff. We can acknowledge that these were things we can celebrate in shaping our society. Anytime one heard Komla Dumor on radio in the morning, one could understand that this is a man who was educating, informing, and entertaining at the same time. It is not for nothing that today, we have the World Radio Day themed as, “Radio and Climate Change”. Climate change is a problem we are dealing with, and one of the major ways to get climate change properly appreciated is through radio, education and information.
Mr Speaker, with all of this said, I also want us to believe that—With your permission, Article 164 reads:
“The provisions of articles 162 and 163 of this Constitution are subject to laws that are reasonably required in the interest of national security, public order, public morality and for the purpose of protecting the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons”
Mr Speaker, what radio does is to ensure that there is public order and public safety. Radio is not meant for causing troubles, but it is rather meant for educating, entertaining and informing people. When there is miscommunication and misinformation, what we see and have seen in some countries is as a result of how we actually use radio and how we did not use it well.
Mr Speaker, we still use radio for public morality purposes. People are educated on moral, religious, traditional, cultural issues, and all of these are done for the purposes of upholding what we have been trained to be.
Mr Speaker, what is also key is to protect the reputation of people, and that is where propaganda comes in. When we do not have the facts, wherewithal, and when we do not know what we are about say, we should not say it. Say it when we are sure; say it when we know it; say it when we have the true facts. One should not just use the radio as a platform to damage the reputation of others because he or she has the opportunity to do so.
Mr Speaker, with this, I also want to commend all radio presenters worldwide and in Ghana, especially the professional ones, and emphasis is on the “professional” ones. This is because there are some who have turned themselves into, with all due respect to them, buga buga presenters, and all they say is what they believe in, just to damage people. Mr Speaker, we hope and pray that people would use radio for the purposes for which they have been set up.
I thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for granting me this opportunity.
Hon Richard Acheampong
Bia East
Thank you very much, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity. I would also like to add my voice to commend the maker of the Statement.
Mr Speaker, the theme for this year is, “Radio and Climate Change”, so we need to also focus attention on what we use radio to propagate because we have a lot of issues in respect of climate change, global warming and all that. The point is, if one has a radio station, throughout the week, from Monday to Sunday, all they do is politics. And people have become so attached to these stations that even when the radio stations want to run advertisements or play musical interludes, the listeners switch to another station to listen to political shows where people are being attacked and leaders are being denigrated.
Mr Speaker, radio has come to stay; we need to also encourage them to expand because they are the fourth estate of the realm, but the point is, are they licensed to do what they are doing now? The kind of political interferences we also give to these stations—I have a story to tell.
Mr Speaker, I applied for a licence myself, and I was told that I am a politically exposed person, and that I would use the radio to run propaganda for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), so they would never issue the licence to me. For the past eight years, our Colleagues on the Side— [Interruption]—I went through all the processes and paid the fees, but I was not issued the licence to operate the radio station. I did not state NDC on the application or I did not tell them that I would use the station to propagate for NDC, but they looked at my face and political orientation and denied me the licence. If we try to do same, we would see them crying foul and they would say that past wrongs can never be justified in today’s time. So there must be a paradigm shift. ——All right, it is yes today because they denied me the licence.
Mr Speaker, we need to talk about the environment. Look at the devastating state that we find ourselves in, in terms of galamsey activities. Is the media focusing on it? But let me pay tribute to Erastus Asare Donkor; I think he is in Kumasi. He has done so well in terms of the fight against galamsey. It got to a point where he needed to run for his life because his personal life was under attack, and he has brought a lot of issues to the fore for people to discuss. It is by the effort of some media houses that we are now seeing some clean water bodies around us. The rest can also join so that at least, this kind of—Yesterday, we talked about Trump cutting off aid to African countries, and we were crying that there would be a budget gap of US$150,000,000. If we are able to do things right, we would not need the US$150,000,000 President Trump is denying us.
Mr Speaker, let us encourage the media, but they must be responsive. They must bring to the fore issues affecting communities, and issues affecting humanity, so that at least, their presence would be felt by all of us. It is not about doing politics 24/7. It is not about trying to pick an individual, and attacking them from morning till evening. Somebody is behind it; there are always sponsors. They go after certain people in order to get opportunities. The media dependence is there; the Constitution is clear. They should live up to their mandate and deliver. We as politicians would do everything to remain relevant, but the media should be there to check us.
When one knows the cameras are on him or her, it would shape whatever he or she says and does. So, our actions and inactions would be shaped by the media landscape. So, we encourage them to do more. We need to invest in what they do. Sometimes when they come to cover programmes, by the end of the day what do we give them? Some media houses are paid GH₵300.00, GH₵400.00 or GH₵500.00. How do we expect them to do quality work for us? How do we expect them to cover whatever we say?
In terms of remuneration, we need to find a way of dealing with it. Though they are private entities, we have the minimum wage. Why should we pay somebody GH₵400.00 or GH₵500.00? I have not mentioned the station so it is not like I am disclosing somebody’s salary, but that is the reality.
Mr Speaker, we need to do more to encourage our brothers and sisters in that sector so that they can help us save our society and our community.
I thank you very much of the opportunity.
AskParly