It's untrue that broadcasters do not pay for Digital Terrestrial Television platform - GIBA

The President of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), Cecil Sunkwa-Mills, has said it is untrue that broadcasters have refused to pay for the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform.

According to him, the association is against the arbitrary allocation of fees on a national platform by the Communications Ministry.

He explained that the Minister of Communications had earlier proposed a fee of $15,000 a month per station.

This, he said was reduced to $10,000 a month after the Association asked for a breakdown.

Quoted by myjoyonline.com, he said, “the designation of rate or fees must go according to the Rate and Fees Act passed and run by the Finance Committee. We consult with the court for a clear interpretation of whether the Minister can do as she is saying or not after issuing invoices to stations. As it is now, we are waiting for the conclusion.”

“In a meeting with the Select Committee present, we made it clear that there was a need for a clear procedure, transparent and fair procedure so we could proceed. At no stage has any broadcaster refused to pay any fees,” he said.

His comments come after the Minister of Communications and Digitalization, Ursula Owusu Ekuful said television signals will be cut if broadcasters fail to pay for the DTT platform.

According to her, government can no longer afford to pay for it.

SSD/MA

Watch the latest edition of BizHeadlines below:



Ghana’s leading digital news platform, GhanaWeb, in conjunction with the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, is embarking on an aggressive campaign which is geared towards ensuring that parliament passes comprehensive legislation to guide organ harvesting, organ donation, and organ transplantation in the country.

Click here to follow the GhanaWeb Business WhatsApp channel