By Abdul-Hayi Moomen

By all standards, a 90-year-old institution that still walks, talks, works, and serves, despite the persistent absence of its daily bread, is not just surviving; it is thriving with grace. The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Ghana’s public broadcaster, turns 90 this year, and while critics may scoff at its perceived shortcomings, the very fact that it still exists and continues to serve the nation is a testament to resilience, not failure.

Yet, the conversation around GBC, particularly in recent years, has often been reduced to unfair comparisons and unproductive ridicule. Ghanaians love to compare GBC to commercial broadcasters, both local and international. They ask why GBC’s content doesn’t glitter like the programs on DSTV, or why it doesn’t break scandals like some private media outlets. But in doing so, they miss a vital truth: comparing GBC to a commercial broadcaster is like comparing apples to oranges.

The two are fruits, yes, but they grow from different trees, are nurtured by different resources, and serve different purposes.

A commercial broadcaster exists primarily for profit. Its programming choices are dictated by ratings, advertising revenue, and market demand. It thrives on entertainment that sells, reality shows, high-profile news that excites, and targeted content meant to attract lucrative sponsors.

In contrast, a public broadcaster like GBC is mandated to serve the public interest. Its duty is to inform, educate, entertain, preserve culture, and give a platform to voices that commercial broadcasters often ignore.

For example, a private station is under no obligation to show a presidential debate, a farmer’s day celebration, or a durbar in Nandom or Kumbungu because it doesn’t draw enough eyeballs. But GBC will.

A private station may not broadcast Parliamentary proceedings or national events live for lack of advertisers, but GBC will, because its responsibility is to the people, not to the market. That responsibility, however, comes with a price tag.

Every month, thousands of Ghanaians pay close to GHS 1,000 to access DSTV subscriptions. They do so not because they are forced to, but because they see value in the service. Yet many of the same individuals protest the GHS 36 annual TV license meant to support GBC. This is the same GBC we expect to deliver World Cup matches, Ghana Premier League games, National Science and Maths Quiz, election coverage, state funerals, children’s shows, documentaries, cultural festivals, and still hold government to account—all on a shoestring budget.

As the Akan proverb goes, “If you want your grandfather’s inheritance to be beautiful, you must contribute to its upkeep”. We cannot demand excellence from GBC when we refuse to fund it. To whom much is given, much is expected. But sadly, GBC has not been given much at all.

Many people lambast GBC for supposedly being too soft on government, unlike private media which they perceive as more aggressive. But in doing so, they conveniently forget that GBC is largely funded by government allocations in the absence of a functional TV license regime. And as the age-old saying goes, “he who pays the piper, calls the tune.” Financial independence is the bedrock of editorial independence. If we want GBC to be fearless, firm, and fully functional, then we must free it from dependency. And the key to that freedom is public funding.

This isn’t just a GBC issue. Recently, the Fourth Estate, one of Ghana’s youngest but most impactful investigative journalism outfits, made a passionate appeal for public donations. They admitted that without resources, the good journalism they are known for will grind to a halt. That same principle applies to GBC. No broadcaster anywhere in the world can operate effectively on goodwill alone.

Let’s take a moment to look beyond our shores. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), PBS in the United States, and CBC in Canada all rely significantly on public funds. Their success stories including educational content, children’s programming, cultural preservation, and hard-hitting journalism, are all made possible because their citizens pay for it.

These broadcasters are not superior because their journalists are better trained or their managers more visionary. They are superior because they are better funded. And when the public pays for it, the public owns it. When you fund GBC, you don’t just support a broadcaster, you safeguard democracy, culture, and access to quality content for all, regardless of income level.

Ironically, it is during national crises, football tournaments, or presidential swearing-ins that people suddenly rediscover GBC. Who broadcasts national team matches when the private stations are silent? Who televises GPL games when the market deems them unprofitable? GBC. Yet, when the public broadcaster fails to show a match due to the high cost of live broadcast rights, the same public rains fire and brimstone. It costs millions to acquire broadcast rights for major sports events, and yet, without TV license revenues, GBC must rely on the benevolence of a cash-strapped government. That is like asking someone to climb a tree with an axe instead of a ladder.

As GBC celebrates its 90th anniversary, let us doff our hats to the men and women who have kept the flame burning. In the face of budget cuts, outdated equipment, and public cynicism, they have endured. Any 90-year-old person or institution without care, love, and support would have collapsed by now. But GBC still breathes. That alone is worth applauding.

Public Service Broadcasting is not a relic of the past. It is the lifeblood of informed citizenship. It is the voice for the voiceless, the chronicler of our shared heritage, and the guardian of our democracy. GBC must be funded, not as a favour, but as a national necessity.

If we truly want a Ghana where children in remote villages can access quality educational TV, where our cultural heritage is documented and celebrated, where governments are held accountable without fear or favour, then we must put our money where our expectations are.

GBC deserves better, and so do we.

Let us all rise and support our public broadcaster because the alternative is a nation where only the rich can afford to be informed, entertained, and heard. And that is not the Ghana we want.

As the elders say, “A nation that does not support its drummer has no business dancing to its own music.”

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