GBC to establish more radio stations to improve service delivery in Northern Ghana

The Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Professor Amin Alhassan has said the management of the corporation will in the next few years focus on restructuring its regional radio stations to autonomous Radio Stations.

This he believed would help the state broadcaster to be able to provide Ghanaians with the needed content and enhance national development.

Professor Amin Alhassan was speaking during a lecture to commemorate the 25th-anniversary celebration of GBC’s Northern Regional FM station, Radio Savannah, Tamale.

The event which was on the theme "Celebrating 25 years of Quality Public Broadcasting in Northern Ghana: The Achievement, Challenges and the Prospects" was held on Saturday, January 22, 2022, at the Tamale College of Education.

It was aimed among other things to enumerate the success stories and as well look into the challenges faced by the station within the 25 years of its existence

Professor Amin indicated that management of the GBC would retool staff and replace outdated equipment in all the regions to enhance their effective and efficient operations.

He further noted that GBC will invest resources and implement modern technologies at its regional stations like the Tamale-based Radio Savannah to satisfy local content. This, he said would include converting all GBC relay FM stations into autonomous stations for smooth running.

He appealed to the staff of the corporation to be professional in performing their duties to ensure that it carries out its mandate as a state-owned and public service broadcaster.

"We are expecting that in next few years, not too long, the retransmission at Gambaga should transform to an FM station so that it can concentrate more on Mampurili content, retransmission station in Damongo should be able to transform itself to predominantly Gonja speaking FM station so that we can have more space and content for Gonja programming," he stated.

Professor Amin observed that social media was not a threat to the growth and development of radio, but rather, a challenge for radio stations to migrate from the olden ways of doing things to the modern means so that they can still maintain their listeners.

"Obviously, yes, the challenge is that audiences are migrating and we must follow them. It doesn't mean that radio will seize, it simply means that two things must happen. One, visualizing radio, which means radio stations should also be available as visualized content. Two, only content must go with alphanumeric text," he noted.

The Northern Regional Director of GBC, Yaw Ampofo Kwarteng in his welcome address, said the Radio Savannah, Tamale was commissioned in 1996 as the first radio station for the entire North and has provided a well structured public service broadcasting to the people which brought a positive impact on their lives

He noted that despite the stiff competition from the private radio stations in the region, the Radio Savannah still keeps to its mandate as a public service broadcaster, and commended the people of the region for their contributions and supports to the growth of the station over the years.

Dr. A. B. Zakriah, a retired communication lecturer at the University for Development Studies (UDS) and a former staff at the Radio Savannah, in a lecture on the topic "Celebrating 25 years of public service broadcasting in Northern Ghana: Achievements, Challenges, and Prospects", commended the Radio Savannah for its immersed contributions to the development of democracy, health, education, and agriculture.

Dr. Zakriah also lauded Radio Savannah for its role in maintaining peace and security in Northern Ghana

"Radio Savannah has rationalized call that was made for radio pluralism and decentralization of public service radio broadcasting in Ghana about three decades ago. Some achievements have been made since the start of public service broadcasting in Northern Ghana. One of the areas public service broadcasting stations has achieved remarkable success in agriculture. Radio Savanah has been a crusader in educating people on the traditions, customs, and history of the people of Northern Ghana. Public Service Radio Broadcasts have played very significant roles in deepening democracy in Ghana," he emphasised.

He added, "Another clear achievement of public service radio broadcast is in the promotion of traditional music, other areas that public service broadcasts have made an impact on is health and sanitation education. Most health and sanitation campaigns by government agencies and non-governmental organizations have largely been carried out by public service broadcast stations."

Dr. Zakriah while applauding the staff and management of the station for their professionalism over years, also encouraged them to keep the flame of ethical standards burning.

Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, the former Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) and Chairman for the event, urged the media to use its airwaves in deepening democracy.

He also urged them to be professionals in the discharge of their duties.

About the GBC Radio Savannah

The GBC's Radio Savannah, Tamale, was inaugurated in 1996 by the then Head of State, Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings. After 25 years of its establishment, Radio Savannah, Tamale remains the source of reliable information and entertainment in its catchment area, more than most radio stations in the region.

The station has the widest broadcast coverage in the Northern, Savannah, and North East Regions as a result of its transmitter locations at advantage points in the region. The station reaches parts of Upper East, Upper West, and the Republic of Togo and fringes of Ivory Coast.

Currently, the station has six relay stations across the region with one of them (Yendi) already transformed into an FM station.

The event was attended by ardent listeners, chiefs, religious leaders, the business community, retired GBC staff among others.