Radio closures: Mahama’s clemency to affected stations commendable — MFWA

Sulemana Braimah, Executive Director for the Media Foundation for West Africa

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has described as commendable the clemency granted by President John Dramani Mahama to some radio stations that were taken off-air over regulatory non-compliance.

According to the National Communications Authority (NCA), the affected stations violated the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775), and its accompanying regulations (L.I. 1991).

Just hours after the directive, President Mahama ordered the NCA to restore the broadcast licenses of 64 affected stations, including pro-New Patriotic Party outlets Wontumi FM and Asaase Radio, which were taken off-air over regulatory breaches.

In a statement issued by the Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, on Thursday, June 12, the President said regulatory compliance must be pursued in a way that protects and enhances media freedom.

“The President has asked the Minister to work with the NCA on a reasonable timeframe within which the affected stations should regularise their authorisation,” the statement added.

In a statement also issued on June 12, the media freedom foundation “welcome[d] the Ministry of Communications’ announcement of a 30-day grace period for the affected stations to comply with all legal and regulatory obligations, following the President’s intervention.”

The organisation also acknowledged the legal obligation for broadcast media outlets to comply with all regulatory requirements.

However, it noted that “the practice of new governments shutting down radio stations under the pretext of audit reports and non-compliance with authorisation obligations,” such as the 2019 closure of Radio XYZ, “is worrying.”