Omane Boamah writes: The Draconian Regulation Of Radio Broadcast

Happy World Radio Day! In 2011 the Member States of UNESCO proclaimed World Radio Day. As a result, February 13 was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (2012) as an International Day for radio.

As we celebrate radio today, across the globe, I commend all stakeholders who work tirelessly to inform, educate and entertain us via the power of radio. Furthermore, I wish to single out producers and engineers who may never be heard on radio but on whose shoulders the final outputs rest.

I cannot forget the hardworking men and women at the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) whose tireless efforts impact on radio broadcasting.

Radio is a powerful medium and must be accessible and affordable to all. Unfortunately, as we celebrate radio today, the government of Ghana is deploying skulduggery and communist inferior tactics in the name of law enforcement to clamp down on dissenting radio stations in Ghana.

For example, Radio Gold and Radio XYZ among others remain closed. Additionally, only this week another radio station in the Volta Region has been added to the unenviable list of sanctioned/closed down radio stations. Justification? May be! But, I have an unshakable conviction that partisan politics is influencing the decisions of the National Communications Authority (NCA) in their unbridled quest to close down dissenting radio stations at the slightest whisper of justification.

Radio promotes human development and diversity. It is a bedrock for diversity and dissent hence must be managed in a democracy with tact and not with Hitlerite brute force.

Happy World Radio Day! Date: 13th February, 2020.

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The writer, Dr Edward Omane Boamah is a former Communications Minister