Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister for Communications has indicated that her Ministry will commence negotiations with stakeholders to devise a strategy to finance the operations of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.
This comes after she sparked controversy with a request to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to reduce the number of channels on its DTT platform from six to three.
According to the Communication Minister, dialogue will be key in the future management of the DTT platform.
She had earlier disclosed concerns with financing as a reason for the channel reductions.
“We’ll discuss the options to finance the maintenance of the platform going forward.”
“So we will have that further consultation of the stakeholders and we will all agree on how to finance the platform going forward and they will all be bound by the decisions that are taken subsequently”.
The recent issues surrounding the platform have compelled calls for it to come under public management.
The Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, suggested that the managers of the platform be selected by the NMC.
“For as long as it is media and it is funded by public funds, our position is that, it is the National Media Commission that must appoint the Chief Executive and the Board of Directors to manage the DTT platform,” he argued.
Currently, the DTT platform is currently managed by KNET, a private firm which has been under contract since 2015.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, had earlier disclosed that stakeholder consultations will begin next week over the sustainability of the Digital Terrestrial Television, (DTT) platform.
According to the minister, broadcasters will have to agree on the mode of generating funds to maintain the platform.
Following a National Media Commission (NMC) ruling and also a directive from the President to halt its moves at reducing DTT channels of GBC and Crystal TV, Mrs. Ekuful in an interview indicated that a meeting has been schedule for net wee with stakeholders pertaining to the matter.
In a follow-up statement, the communication minister said that her outfit’s has rescinded on the directive to reduce the channels of GBC and Crystal.
“I work up to my appointing authority not the committee of communications in parliament. They exercise oversight, they don’t dictate to me how I do my work or neither do I need their prior approval before I implement any policy.
“So, we’ve discussed it with the appointing authority and heard the concerns raised and that led to the manner in which the president crafted his statement to me to suspend it pending further consultations with the stakeholders that is yet to take place. And we hope to meet the stakeholders next week to have those consultations”.
