Accra (Greater Accra), 13 Jan '99 - Members of Parliament yesterday called on the Ministry of Communications to expedite action to restore TV and radio transmission to the Volta and other regions with poor TV and radio reception. They were of the view that with the dawn of the information technology age, it is unacceptable that some communities should be denied access to information. The members expressed these sentiments after a statement by Mr. Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, on the breakdown of radio and television transmission and poor reception in the Volta Region. In the statement, Mr. Kedem appealed to the Ministry of Communications and officials of GTV to take urgent steps to restore and provide TV services to the region. He also appealed to the Minister of Mines and Energy to connect the Amedzofe Radio and TV transmission station to the National Grid. ''We know work is in progress to do exactly that but we would wish that the pace of work be accelerated by the contractors''. Mr Kedem noted that since the introduction of TV to the region, there has always been a problem of transmission and reception of programmes and attributed it frequent breakdown of either the ''decrepit diesel generator or the old and faulty TV transmission equipment''. Mr Kedem said TV reception in the region most of the time is characterised by "either the sound will come with no pictures or the vice versa with pictures hazy or muddled culminating to a breakdown and finally a complete blackout. ''For the past three months or so television sets in most parts of the Volta region have gone dead. Even the poor quality receptions and chaotic services we were complaining about are no longer available to the people." The member said numerous complaints from various quarters have all fallen on deaf ears causing a lot of concern and agitation among the people especially when they realise that other regions in Ghana are enjoying relatively uninterrupted TV transmission. ''The people of the Volta Region are not in the least amused by what is happening, they think, may be rightly so, that they are being taken for granted. That they are not being fairly treated and are being discriminated against''. Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, majority chief whip, said all MPs in the region are being harassed by their constituents because of this problem adding that the sector minister should come and explain the situation to the house to allay the fears of the people. Mr S. K. Boafo, minority chief whip noted that it was unfortunate and sad that the eastern gateway to Ghana does not receive any TV transmission adding '' the people deserve a better deal''. Dr Alex Ababio, NDC-South Dayi said information is no longer a luxury and that the people in the region are missing a lot of important information particularly from the government. Squadron Leader Clend Sowu, NDC-Anlo, noted that communications network should be equitably distributed since aside of the decrepit equipment, programmes in the region particularly in the Keta District are not well covered. Mr Gershon K .B. Gbediame, NDC-Nkwanta, said the Nkwanta and Krachi areas are the worst affected in the region due to the number of mountains between Amedzofe and Nkwanta. He therefore appealed to the authorities to put up a boaster station at Nkwanta since they neither receive transmission from Ghana Television nor the Volta Star FM radio station. Most MPs who contributed expressed similar sentiments and called for a holistic approach to solving the problem since it is prevalent in other parts of the country, particularly in the north. They also appealed to the public to contribute their quota by paying their TV Licence Fees. Nii Adjei-Boye Sekan, chairman of the select committee on communications said the problems enumerated by members is well known to the committee, the ministry and the GBC and would be solved as soon as funds are available. He said GBC on its own has embarked on a vigorous commercialisation programme to raise more funds for its operations and appealed to the members to help GBC in doing this.
Accra (Greater Accra), 13 Jan '99 - Members of Parliament yesterday called on the Ministry of Communications to expedite action to restore TV and radio transmission to the Volta and other regions with poor TV and radio reception. They were of the view that with the dawn of the information technology age, it is unacceptable that some communities should be denied access to information. The members expressed these sentiments after a statement by Mr. Kosi Kedem, NDC-Hohoe South, on the breakdown of radio and television transmission and poor reception in the Volta Region. In the statement, Mr. Kedem appealed to the Ministry of Communications and officials of GTV to take urgent steps to restore and provide TV services to the region. He also appealed to the Minister of Mines and Energy to connect the Amedzofe Radio and TV transmission station to the National Grid. ''We know work is in progress to do exactly that but we would wish that the pace of work be accelerated by the contractors''. Mr Kedem noted that since the introduction of TV to the region, there has always been a problem of transmission and reception of programmes and attributed it frequent breakdown of either the ''decrepit diesel generator or the old and faulty TV transmission equipment''. Mr Kedem said TV reception in the region most of the time is characterised by "either the sound will come with no pictures or the vice versa with pictures hazy or muddled culminating to a breakdown and finally a complete blackout. ''For the past three months or so television sets in most parts of the Volta region have gone dead. Even the poor quality receptions and chaotic services we were complaining about are no longer available to the people." The member said numerous complaints from various quarters have all fallen on deaf ears causing a lot of concern and agitation among the people especially when they realise that other regions in Ghana are enjoying relatively uninterrupted TV transmission. ''The people of the Volta Region are not in the least amused by what is happening, they think, may be rightly so, that they are being taken for granted. That they are not being fairly treated and are being discriminated against''. Mr Edward Doe Adjaho, majority chief whip, said all MPs in the region are being harassed by their constituents because of this problem adding that the sector minister should come and explain the situation to the house to allay the fears of the people. Mr S. K. Boafo, minority chief whip noted that it was unfortunate and sad that the eastern gateway to Ghana does not receive any TV transmission adding '' the people deserve a better deal''. Dr Alex Ababio, NDC-South Dayi said information is no longer a luxury and that the people in the region are missing a lot of important information particularly from the government. Squadron Leader Clend Sowu, NDC-Anlo, noted that communications network should be equitably distributed since aside of the decrepit equipment, programmes in the region particularly in the Keta District are not well covered. Mr Gershon K .B. Gbediame, NDC-Nkwanta, said the Nkwanta and Krachi areas are the worst affected in the region due to the number of mountains between Amedzofe and Nkwanta. He therefore appealed to the authorities to put up a boaster station at Nkwanta since they neither receive transmission from Ghana Television nor the Volta Star FM radio station. Most MPs who contributed expressed similar sentiments and called for a holistic approach to solving the problem since it is prevalent in other parts of the country, particularly in the north. They also appealed to the public to contribute their quota by paying their TV Licence Fees. Nii Adjei-Boye Sekan, chairman of the select committee on communications said the problems enumerated by members is well known to the committee, the ministry and the GBC and would be solved as soon as funds are available. He said GBC on its own has embarked on a vigorous commercialisation programme to raise more funds for its operations and appealed to the members to help GBC in doing this.
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