The President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association(GIBA), Cecil Sunkwa-Mills has refuted claims that broadcasters are refusing to pay for their use of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.
His comment follows Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful’s warning on Monday that television signals to homes and offices may be cut from next year should operators fail to pay for the platform.
Cecil Sunkwa-Mills explained that this is because every station is aware that distributing content comes at a cost.
“In a meeting with the Select Committee present, we made it clear that there was a need for a clear procedure, transparent and fair procedure so we could proceed. At no stage has any broadcaster refused to pay any fees,” he said on Joy FM’s Top Story on Monday.
Mr Sunkwa-Mills also stated that GIBA is against the arbitrary allocation of fees on a national platform by the Communications Ministry adding that the Minister earlier proposed a fee of $15,000 a month per station.
However, it was slashed to $10,000 a month after the fee was challenged and the Association called for a breakdown.
He also noted that the Minister does not have the legal right to allocate fees for such a platform.
“We consult with the court for a clear interpretation of whether the Minister can do as she is saying or not after issuing invoices to stations. As it is now, we are waiting for the conclusion.”