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17.01.2018 Feature Article

Why 'sack' The Director General Of Gbc Because Of Tv Licence?

Dr. Kwame Akuffo AnoffNtowDr. Kwame Akuffo Anoff–Ntow
17.01.2018 LISTEN

The decision of the governing board of GBC to direct the Director General (Dr. Kwame Akuffo Anoff–Ntow ) to proceed on leave (which can best be described as "go and never come back again") is uncalled for and a smack of hypocrisy.

What wrong has he done in this whole brouhaha about the TV licence? Is he not enforcing what is law? In any case, if not because of the public backlash about the steps taking by GBC to enforce the payment of the TV licence, would the board or better still government have taken this 'wicked' approach of relieving of his post?

Just Google the caption 'GBC to send defaulters of TV licence to court' and you will realize that, GBC has been talking its plans to drag defaulters of the licence to court way back before the Chief Justice formed the TV licence courts to prosecute defaulters. All those who are now saying they were not aware of GBC's decision to prosecute defaulters of the licence, I guess they went to sleep when in fact the information about GBC's plan towards collecting the licence was in the public domain. Couldn't they have call on GBC to halt its decision as they sit on a round table to find a better way of addressing the issue? Why make the Director General a scape goat in these whole hullabaloo about the TV licence?

My suggestion to the board and to a very large extent the government is that, instead of trying hard to make the man look bad in the eyes of the public, why not take steps to totally scrap the Act that mandates GBC to collect the licence and also find other funding means for the Corporation? When the MP's seat and reviewed the TV licencing act, who chastised them for doing that? Why do you then turn round to blame someone who is supposed to enforce the act for trying enforce the it? The loud deafening silence of parliament in this whole TV licence issue is also quite surprising.

As a people, we always talk about the need for us to build strong institutions but these act of stifling and holding CEO's and directors of state institutions hands at their back, when they take bold decisions to do what is right and the best interest of their institutions is completely sad.

Even though, I belong to the school of thought that holds view that the current state of the TV licencing in Ghana is archaic and needs complete overhaul, I still think GBC needs serious funding mechanisms to be able to meet the demands of the public.

It is some of this flaws on the part of previous GBC governing boards that has resulted in huge judgment debt against the corporation which is contributing to bringing the corporation on its knees.

Not until this unnecessary interference at GBC is stopped, a lot these unfair treatment would continue.

I rest my case.
Ibrahim Mohammed Hamid

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