The Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) says a new agreement between the government of Ghana and StarTimes dubbed “Access to Satellite TV for 300 Villages in Ghana Project” will only collapse broadcasting companies.
According to the President of GIBA, Danso Aninkora, they will resist attempts by the Chinese Broadcasting company to take over the broadcasting space in Ghana through its arrangement with government.
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“Why should you bring a Chinese broadcasting company to Ghana when we have companies capable of doing the same job. They only want to collapse our broadcasting job and we won’t allow government to go ahead with the project,” he said.
Mr Danso Aninkora was speaking on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen Wednesday.
The ‘300 village satellite TV project’, according to Communications Ministry, will benefit 6,000 households drawn from 300 villages nationwide.
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The project is aimed at helping “our citizens to access TV information on national and international events and programmes that would educate and inform them hence increasing their awareness and knowledge to improve their welfare,” the Ministry claimed.
However, Mr Danso Aninkora believes the explanation is a cover-up by the Chinese firm to push them out of business and control the national space.
“The Agenda of StarTimes is not only aimed at a profit or the indoctrination of Chinese culture (names, language, food, etc.) and programmes but a larger mandate to take over the control of the broadcast space in strategic African countries including Ghana, which is crucial for the China game,” he noted.
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“Whereas today, China does not allow foreign ownership of media and for that matter, will not allow the African broadcast media the space to trade our African channels in their country. Why then should African states give our broadcast space in the fashion as we are experiencing at the moment” he stated.
He added that StarTimes wants to reap where they did not sow.
“When we wanted to launch out, StarTimes said…we should find money to start the DTT project. Ghanaians raised spectrum, we raised the money locally, and we started the project, and we did 90% completion with our public funds. If there is a need for expansion, a Ghanaian will be able to do it,” he added