Submit yourself to NCA rules and regulations – Suhuyini to newly-approved radio stations

Member of Parliament for Tamale North, Alhassan Suhuyini, has admonished the newly approved radio stations in the country for licensing after the National Communications Authority (NCA) shut them down for not honoring their financial obligations and the lack of licensing, saying they should submit themselves to the rules of the governing body to avoid such fate in the future.

He said the beleaguered stations should submit themselves to the processes and procedures and comply with the NCA’s guidelines in order to get them restored back to their former broadcasting status in the country.

Mr Suhuyini however touted the closure of the stations as “needless” and “politically motivated” because of their perceived affiliation with the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC).

He said the move by the Akufo-Addo-led government to close those stations in the first instance was a blot on the country’s democratic sheet since the President has been touted as a “lover of the media and free speech” in the country.

When asked that it is alleged by some Ghanaians that the opposition Members of Parliament approved the President’s Ministerial nominees at the Vetting Committee so that the affected radio stations will get their licensing back, he answered “even if that consideration is true or not, I will say that if that was the consideration for the approval of some ministers, for me it is progressive.”

The former broadcaster explained that if the relicensing is an admission of a wrong that was done to those stations in the past, for him that is progressive, which means the country is making progress.

He proffered that he does not think that was the only consideration that the NCA used in approving the beleaguered stations for relicensing.

Mr. Suhuyini made this call in an interview with Johnnie Hughes on the New Day show on Wednesday, October 13.

He was reacting on the heels of the approval for relicensing by the National Communication Authority (NCA) of some radio stations in the country for not honoring their financial obligations and the lack of licensing after the NCA audit of 2017.

“We hope that the stations involved will submit themselves to whatever processes and procedures that the NCA will outline and in the end comply with whatever that they have to comply with for their licenses to be restored so that we can begin to enjoy the very good programming we used to have on XYZ, Radio Gold and some of the other stations,” he said on the New Day show.