The Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, has revealed that the government is providing a 30-day grace period to radio stations that were recently shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA). This period will allow them to address regulatory violations and get back to broadcasting.
While speaking to Parliament on Thursday, June 12, Mr. George mentioned that this decision came after a directive from President John Mahama earlier that day, which instructed the ministry and the NCA to work together to restore services to the affected media outlets.
Mr. Speaker, just moments ago, His Excellency John Mahama directed that the Ministry collaborate with the NCA to give all impacted radio stations extra time to rectify the identified issues within a specified timeframe,” the minister stated.
He further noted that any stations that do not regularize their authorizations within the 30-day window will face formal revocation as per existing regulations.
“This is not akin to the arbitrary revocations and heavy fines that were imposed during the previous administration,” he informed the House.
“As a compassionate government, the Ministry has also been directed to waive all applicable fines.”
On Thursday, the NCA implemented a shutdown of 64 radio stations, including Asaase Radio, Happy FM, and Wontumi FM, due to their non-compliance with certain sections of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 1991), specifically Regulations 54 and 56.
Source: HotFmOnline.com
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