The National Communications Authority (NCA) has suspended the operations of nine radio stations for breaching broadcasting regulations after the 30-day amnesty period granted by President John Dramani Mahama expired, the regulator said in a statement on date.
The suspensions include three stations owned by Bernard Antwi-Bosiako widely known as Wontumi which the NCA said failed to rectify specified breaches during the amnesty window.
The NCA said the enforcement follows the expiration of the grace period the President gave to defaulting broadcasters to remedy violations of Ghana’s FM broadcasting laws and regulations.
While several stations took steps to comply during the amnesty, six made no effort to address the infractions and three partly complied but did not rectify critical breaches, the regulator said.
According to the NCA, the following six stations have been suspended after taking no corrective action during the amnesty:
1. Donplus Multimedia Limited 105.9 FM, Ho
2. Dreams Ghana Media Limited 104.9 FM, New Abirem
3. Jam Multimedia Limited 101.3 FM, Kintampo
4. Jewel Group Limited 102.7 FM, Duayaw Nkwanta
5. Kpandai Star Community Radio 107.3 FM, Kpandai
6. Unique Gateway Communication Limited 105.7 FM, Nkawkaw
The regulator further said three stations operated by Wontumi Multimedia Company Limited were suspended for continuing to operate without a Certificate of Compliance, in breach of Regulation 54 of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 1991).
The suspended Wontumi stations are:
1. Wontumi Multimedia Company Limited 95.9 FM, Accra
2. Wontumi Multimedia Company Limited 101.3 FM, Kumasi
3. Wontumi Multimedia Company Limited 101.3 FM, Takoradi
The NCA noted that these stations failed to remedy infractions that included unauthorised use of Studio-to-Transmitter Link (STL) frequencies and operating from unapproved transmitter locations.
The regulator pledges continued oversight stating “The NCA will continue to monitor the broadcasting space to ensure compliance with the relevant authorisation conditions and the laws and regulations governing the operation of broadcasting services in Ghana.”
