Court orders installation of radio transmitter

Sunyani (Brong Ahafo) 16 Nov. '98 A Sunyani high court has ordered a businessman to release for installation, a one-kilowatt transmitter in his possession to a private radio station in Sunyani. Mr Freddy Agyeman, Managing Director of Sky Frequency Modulation station and one of three shareholders of the organisation, seized the transmitter he imported in the name of the station, to force the two other shareholders to pay him the cost of the importation. As a result of his action the station, which is one of the two F.M. radio stations in Sunyani has not been on air for the past three months. His other partners are Mr K. Adjei-Kyeremeh, Member of Parliament (MP) for Dormaa East and Mr Bimah Mohammed, who is based in the United States. Mr William Oduro, counsel for Mr Agyeman said his client together with the two others decided to establish and operate a radio station at Sunyani over a year ago with a hired small transmitter. He said in their quest to reach out to more listeners in the Brong Ahafo region, the management decided to buy a more powerful transmitter, and Mr Agyeman took a 15- million- cedis loan from the Nsoatreman Rural Bank, using his land lease as a collateral to import one. Mr Oduro said there was already a disagreement over the allotment of share holdings of the station between his client and the other two partners. He said before the issue could be settled, the other two partners who between them have 70 per cent of the shares of the company wrote to his client that they had dismissed him as the Managing Director of the company. Mr Oduro stated that to protect his huge investment, his client has no alternative but to keep the transmitter till he is paid the cost of its importation to defray the loan he took. In a counter argument, the counsel for the plaintiffs, Mr W. Y. Oppong said the transmitter was imported in the name of the Sky F.M. station and it must be released to it for installation to generate revenue to pay for the cost of its importation. He said it was wrong for Mr Agyeman to continue to keep the transmitter and expect the station to make money when it is off air. In his ruling, the presiding Judge, Mr Paul Gyaesayor ordered that in the interest of the public who are also major beneficiaries of the transmissions of the station, Mr Agyeman should without delay release the facility for installation. He said the station should operate under the present management, who would be assisted by the registrar of the court and that all receipts accruing from its operations should be paid into the account of the company. The ruling, he said, is without prejudice to the substantive case of share holding allotments and ownership which is pending before the court and urged the parties to try and settle their differences out of court. The high court order takes immediate effect.