The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) has trained about 250 Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) private vendors who sell prepaid credits in the Tema Municipality to use their electronic platforms to collect TV licence fees on behalf of the corporation for a commission.
The avenue, which was designed to capture domestic TV licence users in the communities, is aimed at increasing the pay points by bringing them closer to the licence users for convenient payment of the fee.
The training covered areas like the 1966 Act, which mandates the GBC to collect the TV licence fee, benefits of paying the fee, of which some are to make GBC independent to serve the public better, maintain broken down transmission equipment, build classroom studios for JHS and SHS students in deprived areas to have access to quality video education, preserve our culture and heritage, and market Ghana to the outside world.
The participants were taken through the registration process and types of licence: Domestic (one TV set GHC 36, two or more TV sets GHC 60 yearly), Commercial (one TV set GHC 36 per year). Under Dealers’, Repairers licence (GHC 60 per outlet per year) and Sales licence (GHC 240 per sales outlet per year).
For expiration date of the TV licence the Act, 1966 (N.L.C.D 89) as amended, section 4:1 ( Duration of Licences) says that all licences granted under the law are yearly and shall expire on the 31st day of December in the year in which they are issued.
Pastor Ebenezer Botwi, Deputy Director of Finance and Head of TV licence Department, who led the training, said GBC would not deal with people whose integrity and honesty are questionable. Hence, GBC is in touch with the management of the ECG Private Vendors’ Association to recommend members of the association who are in good standing to start with.
“GBC would not advance any TV licence booklet to any individual or agency to sell before sending the money to GBC, rather it would give opportunity to interested persons and agencies to purchase the licence booklet or quota with prescribed or corresponding commission to sell,” Pastor Botwi said.
Mr. Daniel Awuku, President of the ECG Private Vendors Association, called on Ghanaians to see the payment of TV licence fee as their civic responsibility to GBC and the nation as whole. “GBC belongs to each every one of us, therefore, we must fund it to protect our interest, by providing us with programmes that reflect on culture and heritage,” Mr. said Daniel Awuku.
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