The Ranking Member on Parliament’s Communications Committee has advised the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) to employ alternative measures to address its issues with the Ministry of Communications in terms of the pricing of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.
Sam George discussing the topic on JoyNews’ PM Express, suggested that GIBA instead present to Parliament a counteroffer to the $10,000 per month being requested by the ministry.
The Ningo-Prampram MP expressed a belief that litigation would not provide a sustainable solution to the issue at hand.
While acknowledging the legitimacy of GIBA’s concerns, he emphasised that the Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful alone cannot impose such fees, as they must undergo the legislative process for approval by Parliament.
“GIBA has some legitimate case to make even if the $10,000 is the acceptable fee; the Minister on her own cannot impose that fee because this is a public fee and charge, so it must come to the Subsidiary Legislation Of Parliament for them to approve the charges before the minister can charge that fee,” he said on Tuesday.
He therefore proposed that the resolution to the matter lies in the Minister presenting the fee to Parliament for approval, ensuring a transparent and legal process.
“The minister is to come to Parliament with the fee for approval. I also think that GIBA must be minded not to be overly litigious because you may still be in court but if the minister fulfills the legal requirement of coming to Parliament and parliament approves it, you would have to pay,” he said.
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