[ 2017-02-10 ]

Mustapha Hamid promises to work towards making GBC 'exciting'
The minister-designate for Information, Mustapha
Hamid, has promised to make the Ghana Broadcasting
Corporation (GBC) more viable and effective if he
gets the ministerial job.

At Parliament’s Appointments Committee hearing
on Thursday, Mustapha Hamid also promised to make
the state broadcaster more financially independent
by introducing innovative ways to collect TV
licenses.

 “I think that is important that we work
towards GBC a ‘BBC’ if you want where it is
able to raise its own money and be very
independent of government control even in terms of
government subvention so that we can position it
as a global player on the international scene,”
he said.

GBC has become the butt of jokes in the
broadcasting space in Ghana.

The state broadcaster has been mocked on social
media for its old-fashioned programming and poor
signals following heightened competition from
private broadcasters.

Ghana Television (GTV) is number six in terms of
audience share of nine free-to-air TV channels,
according to Geopoll.

Calls have been made to privatise GBC to make its
programming more relevant and exciting, but those
calls have been countered on grounds the country
needs a truly independent state-owned media.

Mustapha Hamid, however, assured the vetting
committee that GBC is currently applying some
innovative ways of collecting TV license fees to
finance its operations.

GBC’s efforts to collect the fees remains a
challenge as there is a general apathy among the
populace in paying the fees. But according to
Mustapha Hamid, GBC’s innovation to allow
Ghanaians pay their fees via their mobile phones
among other innovating ways will help improve its
operations.

Mustapha Hamid told the Committee that, he would
help ensure that the country’s Broadcasting
Bill, which defines parameters of broadcasting in
the country and provides sanctions for media
entities who flout it, is passed before the end of
the 4-year term of the government.

Source - Myjoyonline.com

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