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Member of Parliament for Ningo Prampram, Sam George has accused the Akufo-Addo government making the first step in a ‘renewed’ attempt to close down the state broadcaster through the back door.

According to the Member of Parliament’s Communication Committee, the NPP led government is trying to privatize the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) with its directive for the state broadcaster to reduce the number of channels it has on the DDT platform.

“Last year we saw an attempt to take away the kid’s educational channel and give to another private entity. GBC had to go to the National Media Commission to reverse that decision. So this is not the first time the Communications Ministry under Ursula Owusu is trying to take away GBC’s channels,” he said on Joy FM’s Top Story.

Communications Ministry under the leadership of Ursula Owusu Ekuful on Tuesday directed GBC to reduce the number of channels it is operating on the National Digital Terrestrial Television platform.

In the letter signed by the Minister, the move is to ensure there is redundancy on the National DTT platform which is currently at full capacity and make way for other channels including those that government intends to broadcast information about “Covid-19 and issues of national interest.”

The Ningo Prampram lawmaker in reaction to the letter insists that it is the part of the scheme of the government to clamp down and privatize the state broadcaster.

“If government has any information it needs to broadcast, it needs to do that using the state broadcaster. What is happening is just an attempt to clamp down and privatize GBC through the back door”.

“What’s going to happen to the staffs who work at the other three channels? Are they going to be redundant or are they going to be maintained on the booth? This would mean that you have doubled the staff you need and then they [the government] will later turn around and tell us that GBC is bleeding and for that reason we need to sell GBC,” he asserted.

He further indicated that the Communications Committee in Parliament will summon the Information Ministry to respond to the said “illegality; adding that he will invoke the powers of the committee with the support of his ranking member Hon. AB Fuseini on the issue.

“We will invoke the powers of the Committee to summon the Ministry of Information that has oversized responsibility of the GBC to draw to the attention the illegality being perpetuated on an agency of their by the Ministry of Communications,” he added.