The Chairman of the National Media Commission Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo has accused the government of discrimination in the treatment of state agencies.
According to Mr Ayeboafo, allowances for the commissioners are sometimes in arrears for seven months. Speaking at an engagement with the expanded leadership, the NMC chairman questioned why the Electoral Commission which is of the same status is treated specially.
“Sometimes even the payment of our allowances is delayed unduly and I’ve been telling some of my members that if the majority of the commission members were not working, I mean if they were people who did not have their living and they were to depend on the allowances that they were to receive from the commission before then it would have created some difficulties.
“Because if for 6,7,8,9 months the allowance has not been paid how do you expect the person to commit him or herself to serving the public interest. The time has come for us to really take a look at that and see that none of the commission that we created is more important than any other.
“Not because somebody is in charge of elections and therefore elections are the ones that we need. But one wrong article about the human person can degrade that person beyond recovery, it can kill the spirit of that individual because of one bad report.”
Mr. Ayeboafo further asked for an amendment of existing laws to empower the NMC to take action against erring media houses. The status quo according to Yaw Boadu Ayeboafo does not allow for sanitisation of the media landscape in line with the values of the country.
Deputy minority whip Ahmed Ibrahim who represented minority leader Haruna Iddrisu faulted the government for failing to give the NMC the attention it deserves.
According to him, allocation of frequencies should be given to the Commission instead of the NCA as exists. The Banda MP argued the closure of some radio stations was given a political interpretation because of the involvement of the communications ministry which supervises the NCA.
—Starrfm
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