"Is it not truthful that sometimes political interference intrudes into the structure and, therefore, the direction of GBC, leading to the cut-off of a section of the catchment zone?" he queried.

 

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu was delivering the first in a series of lectures to mark the 80th anniversary of GBC in Accra last Thursday on the theme: "Public Service Broadcasting in a Commercially Competitive Environment."

 

GBC was established in 1935 by the colonial government to promote its interest. It started as a radio station. Television broadcasting was introduced 50 years ago.

 

The minority leader noted that the three conditions that Public Service Broadcasting (PSB) needed to fulfill its mandate were the independence of PSB through legal institutions, guaranteed funding and the need for public service broadcasters to be accountable to the public in the discharge of their mandate.

 

"Public service broadcasters are required to be independent of government and commercial interests and, strictly speaking, must be dedicated to serving solely the public interest,” Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu stated and added that "even though PSBs remain in public ownership, they operate under statutes detailing their editorial independence from the government of the day and establishing their own governance." 

 

Comparison

 

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said in most countries in Eastern Europe and Africa, including Ghana, state broadcasters were funded through a mix of advertising and public finance, either through a licence fee or directly from the government.

 

According to the minority leader, GBC was set up to promote the interest of the then government, and so its funding was from the state kitty.

 

"In today's world, the funding is woefully inadequate. If such a service provider has to rely on state funding alone, it cannot survive," he indicated.

 

Increase fees

 

He, therefore, proposed an increase in the licence fee charged by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), as the current rate was very low.

 

Mr Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu said it was important for the existing rate of 30 pesewas to be increased "to reflect the current competitive environment in relation to commercialisation."

 

Besides, he said, the mode of collection of license fees by the GBC was not cost effective.

 

He, therefore, called for a more pragmatic, efficient and effective mechanism to ensure the collection of the prescribed fee.

 

GBC Board

 

The Board Chairman of GBC, Mr Richard Kwame Asante, said the corporation had chalked up successes by promoting national culture and political awareness through the delivery of quality news, debate, discussion and entertainment programmes.

 

He said although the government continued to pay the salaries of workers, most of GBC’s operations were sponsored from its internally generated funds.

 

The acting Director-General of GBC, Mrs Francisca Ashietey-Odunton, said the corporation would lead the process of migration from analogue to digital transmission in the country.

 

The Chairman of the National Media Commission, Ambassador Kabral Blay -Amihere, lauded GBC for its achievement in the last 80 years, through hard work, sacrifice and dedication.