Stakeholders to form committee to monitor unethical broadcast content – Oppong Nkrumah

The Ministry of Information has announced that a joint stakeholder group will be set up to address the issue of unethical broadcast content in Ghana.

On Friday, April 16, 2021, the Ministry of Information held a Stakeholders’ Consultative Meeting on emerging issues relevant to broadcasting in Ghana.

The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, in a statement, said the stakeholders agreed to set up the joint stakeholder group to examine reports of unethical content and invoke the powers of the National Communication Authority (NCA), to take punitive action against offending broadcasters.

The committee will comprise of representatives of the National Media Commission (NMC), the National Communications Authority (NCA), the National Security Secretariat, the Bank of Ghana, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the Office of the Attorney-General.

The committee will, among other things, monitor the broadcasting landscape to identify and examine complaints of unethical broadcast content.

This includes content that is offensive to National Security, public order, public morality and is against the reputations, rights and freedoms of other persons.

It is also expected to provide an early warning system for flagging unethical broadcast content.

The joint stakeholder group will also recommend appropriate remedies to relevant regulators including recommendations for the issuance (and publication) of warnings, recommendations for the suspension of frequency authorization and the withdrawal of frequency authorization by the NCA.

The regulation of the broadcasting space has received more scrutiny recently following the reported role a spiritualist on TV played in the killing of an 11-year-old in a suburb in the Ga South municipality.