The President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Cecil Thomas Sunkwa-Mills, has expressed concern over the rushed handling of the Broadcasting Bill, which is currently being treated as an emergency.
He believes the decision to push the bill through under emergency conditions is ‘unfair.’
Contributing to a discussion at the Joy Brands’ national dialogue on Defending Media Freedom on Thursday, August 29, he said the bill has been in development for over three-and-a-half years, yet stakeholders were only provided with a copy of the 58-page document by the sector Minister almost three weeks ago.
“…We’ve been told it’s going to go under emergency, but we’ve had to spend nights in the last three weeks browsing through the 58-page document, which would determine a lot about broadcasting in Ghana.
“There’s a lot of input that has gone in, but we’ll share it by tomorrow, and then we’ll see. We believe the time frame and the state of making it an emergency is not fair,” he said.
His comment follows the Information Minister, Fatima Abubakar’s announcement that the bill would be presented to the House under a certificate of urgency and affirmed her outfit’s commitment to ensuring that it is passed.
The revised Broadcasting Bill, which was drafted in 2012, seeks to provide comprehensive legislation on broadcasting services regulated by the National Media Commission (NMC) and the National Communications Authority (NCA) in a manner consistent with the Constitution.
The GIBA President pointed out that the document spent a considerable time sitting at the Attorney General’s office, and now the sudden urgency to pass it does not allow for adequate scrutiny.
He stressed the importance of ensuring that such a critical piece of legislation is thoroughly reviewed and not rushed through the legislative process, adding that GIBA will go ahead and give their input.
Source: myjoyonline