By Love Wilhelmina Abanonave
The Executive Director for Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Sulemana Braimah, has emphasized that the biggest problem in the media ecosystem at the moment has to do with the fact that there is a regulator in text but no regulator in practice.
Braimah noted that while regulations exist on paper, they are not effectively enforced in practice. This lack of regulatory enforcement has led to a surge in arbitrary court cases against journalists and media outlets, particularly those that expose wrongdoing. Braimah’s organization, the Fourth Estate, has faced several such court cases.
According to him, obtaining a broadcasting license from the National Media Commission (NMC) is the first step towards setting up a broadcast station in Ghana however you wouldn’t know the true owners behind 70 percent of our radio stations but then, if that requirement is put in place, the NMC would know .
‘’To be eligible to set up a broadcast station, the preliminary point to cross will be to get broadcasting license from the NMC’’, he reiterated.
According to Braimah, the NMC plays a crucial role in vetting potential broadcasters to ensure they meet the necessary requirements.
‘’The NMC would have done the necessary vetting to ensure you have the fundamentals to start a broadcast station’’, he said.
Speaking at the 2025 Constitutional Review Stakeholder Engagement, Braimah highlighted the distinct roles of the NMC and the National Communications Authority (NCA). He continued that while the NMC is responsible for evaluating the merits of potential broadcasters, the NCA reviews the NMC’s recommendations. This process would also shed light on the true ownership structure of broadcast stations, which is currently opaque, with many stations’ ownership structures unknown.
Braimah cited an example where the NMC’s oversight could help identify the actual owners behind approximately 70% of Ghana’s radio stations, which are currently unclear. He stressed that a merger between the NMC and NCA is impossible, given their different areas of expertise citing how the NCA handles technical aspects such as data, frequency, among others whereas the NMC focuses on broadcast media.
The MFWA boss also suggested that the NMC considers introducing provisions that would allow journalists to challenge certain cases, promoting a more accountable media ecosystem. By doing so, the NMC can help create an environment where duty bearers are held accountable, and journalists can operate without fear of frivolous lawsuits.
‘’We want to see a media ecosystem that can hold duty bearers accountable but what is emerging is a lot of arbitrary court cases where people will just run to court based on a story that has been done to expose them.
I’m wondering whether in some way the NMC can make a provision where journalists will have the liberty to challenge certain cases’’, he reiterated.
