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DTT pricing: Be wary how you treat media; it is a pillar of our democracy – GIBA President
The President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, has urged the Communication and Digitisation Ministry to reconsider the pricing of the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.
Addressing the issue on JoyNews’ PM Express, Mr Sunkwa-Mills expressed concerns that the $10,000 per month price to be imposed on broadcasters could potentially cripple media houses in the country.
He therefore called for open discussions with the sector Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, regarding the exorbitant amount to operate on the national DTT platform.
Mr Sunkwa-Mills emphasised the uniqueness of the media in the country, highlighting its pivotal role in sustaining democracy.
The GIBA President highlighted that the association had sought legal interpretation to understand the Minister’s authority to set the figure without proper engagement and clarification on the cost structure.
He stressed the importance of a transparent process and expressed the hope that a reasonable solution would be reached through dialogue.
On the same show, Ranking Member on Parliament’s Communications Committee, Sam George, advised GIBA to withdraw its legal action and instead present a counteroffer to Parliament for resolution.
He believed that litigation would not provide a sustainable solution to the issue at hand.
While acknowledging the legitimacy of GIBA’s concerns, he emphasized that the Minister alone cannot impose such fees, as they must undergo the legislative process for approval by Parliament.
“GIBA has some legitimate case to make even if the $10,000 is the acceptable fee; the Minister on her own cannot impose that fee because this is a public fee and charge, so it must come to the Subsidiary Legislation Of Parliament for them to approve the charges before the minister can charge that fee.
“So the resolution to this matter is the minister to come to parliament with the fee for approval. I also think that GIBA must be minded not to be overly litigious because you may still be in court but if the minister fulfills the legal requirement of coming to Parliament and parliament approves it, you would have to pay,” he said.
Conversations surrounding the DTT national platform was resuscitated after Mrs Owusu-Ekuful’s warned on Monday that television signals to homes and offices may be cut from next year should operators fail to pay for the platform.
The Minister insisted that the warning is as a result of the government having to pay millions of dollars for their use of the platform and can no longer bear the expense.
Digital Terrestrial Television is a technology for terrestrial television where television stations broadcast television content in a digital format.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank
A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.
The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.
The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.
Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.
The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.
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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama
President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.
Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.
He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.
“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.
President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.
He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.
He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.
“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.
Source: Myjoyonline.com
