The Youth Organizer of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) says the National Communications Authority’s (NCA) decision to sanction 131 radio stations is in the right direction.
According to Samuel Awuku, the NCA followed due process by notifying the affected stations according to the law and therefore warned the minority in parliament to desist from ‘fighting’ the NCA over the issue.
“I think the minority NDC is making unnecessary noise and I believe they are suffering from deliberate memory loss and have forgotten that there is a law that exist to check radio stations who go contrary to the laws of the country” he said.
The NCA sanctioned some FM stations by revoking the licenses of 34 stations for operating illegally following the expiration of their licenses.
Owners of the radio stations sanctioned for operating with expired licenses as well as other offenses would have to cough up about GHc1.18 billion.
The Minority in Parliament has since lamented that the recent sanctions imposed on 131 FM Authorization Holders could deprive up to 5, 000 people of their jobs.
“The NCA does not also appear to have considered the deleterious impact this will have on jobs in the sector. We estimate that close to 5,000 people working in the affected stations will be rendered jobless should the current action persist,” a statement by the Minority, signed by the Ranking Member on the Communications Committee, A.B.A Fuseini said.
But speaking on Accra-based Peace FM, the NPP youth leader questioned why the institutions involved failed to pay their licenses.
He believes this action by the NCA is clear that some media institutions are inefficient, and that the NCA wants to stop the operations of these media stations.
Sammy Awuku therefore pleaded with the minority in parliament to desist from playing politics with the issue and rather find ways and means of helping to deal with the issue.
“NCA has not infringed on any rights. Minority should stop using this issue for political points and rather help in their own way to see how the issue can be resolved” he noted.
Listen to Awuku