Broadcasting Bill to be placed before Parliament — Information Minister

The Minister for Information, Mrs Fatimatu Abubakar, has disclosed that the broadcasting bill will soon be laid before Parliament after validation by key stakeholders.

She indicated that the final draft of the broadcasting bill had been forwarded to the Attorney General’s office for review and assured stakeholders that their views would be incorporated into the drafted bill.

The broadcasting bill seeks to address critical issues in the media landscape by enhancing regulatory frameworks and promoting responsible broadcasting.

Mrs Abubakar said this when she toured some media houses yesterday in Accra as part of stakeholder engagements in the media sector to discuss some gains and address concerns of the institutions.

She visited the Ghana Independence Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) and the New Crusading Guide.

The Minister commended the executives of the institutions for their continuous support and collaboration with the Ministry.

She highlighted the Coordinated Mechanism on Safety of Journalists (CMSJ) and the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) as some key programmes undertaken by the Ministry to ensure a conducive regulatory environment to promote growth and innovation in the sector.

She stated, “There is a growing number of passionate and talented youth in Ghana who have not undergone any formal training in journalism but have taken up journalism roles.

“These practising journalists may not be conscious of the ethics of the profession. Therefore, I encourage executives to take advantage of MCEP by the Ministry and enroll some of these individuals to be equipped with some professional training.”

The Minister also encouraged media organisations to take advantage of the International Fund for Public Interest Media’s (IFPIM) 5 million USD support fund to enhance their growth.

On their part, the executives of GIBA, PRINPAG and the New Crusading Guide, Commended Mrs Abubakar for her efforts to improve the media space in Ghana and appealed for continuous resource support and advertising from the government to sustain the print media operations.