By Christopher Asiedu, a Journalist
31st July 2023 marked exactly 88 years since the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, GBC came into being as a wired relay station for the British Broadcasting Corporation, BBC. Originally code-named “Station ZOY,” it was established by the “Sunshine Governor” Arnold Hodson in Accra, in 1935, with support from a British Radio Engineer, F.A.W. Byron, to provide information for the expatriates and the colonial administrators in the then Gold Coast. The new radio station came as a revelation to the indigenous people and they perceived it as a tool to facilitate a change in their lives. The British colonial masters, therefore, took advantage of the situation and used “Station ZOY” as a propaganda tool to prosecute the Second World War against the Germans. They capitalised on the new radio station to get the indigenes to support the colonial government’s policies and programmes.
First, broadcasting in the Ghanaian languages, therefore, began in four indigenous languages, namely Fante, Twi, Ga, and Ewe. Later, Hausa was added. Station ZOY was initially administered by the Public Relations Department of the then-colonial government between 1946 and 1953. It became an independent organization upon the recommendation of a Commission set up by the government and it was re-named Gold Coast Broadcasting Service in 1953. On attainment of independence in 1957, the Station became the Ghana Broadcasting Service. The Organisation assumed its current name, the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, otherwise or also known as GBC, through the National Liberation Council’s Decree, NLCD 226 in 1968, which mandated it to provide public service broadcasting. GBC was further mandated to provide commercial service to the business community, hence the establishment of Radio 2 in 1968. Before then, under the visionary leadership of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, TV was introduced in 1965 to project the African personality.
To further pursue his ambition of African Unity, Dr. Nkrumah established the External Service, which broadcasts some international languages like Hausa, Kiswahili, Arabic, French, and Portuguese to the entire African continent. Since 1968, the Corporation has undoubtedly lived up to its responsibility as a public service broadcaster, supporting the government and its policies and programmes, state institutions, organisations, and agencies, ensuring unity and diversity of the state’s culture and traditions, projecting the cultural values of the people, and playing advocacy roles, in addition to performing its traditional roles of informing, educating, and entertaining the populace. For many years, GBC enjoyed the monopoly of being the only broadcast medium for reaching out to the people and could be remembered for championing state policies like “operation feed yourself” and the “right-hand drive” campaign in the 1970s, the District Assembly concept in the 1980s, and many more. It has played a major role in sustaining Ghana’s young democracy and continues to play an important role in the country’s governance system. The Corporation has gone through many transformative stages, in terms of infrastructure, programming, and technological deployment, with coloured television coming into being in 1986. It has also migrated from analogue to digital technology transmission, ironically/thereby, losing the good old Radio 1, Radio 2, and the External Service.
Today, GBC has about six national TV channels, one regional TV channel, and 18 regional and district radio stations to pursue and uphold its vision as the authentic and trusted voice of Ghana. The people now have the opportunity to use the various local languages and project their culture in the six traditional languages: Akan, Ewe, Ga, Dagbani, Nzema, and Hausa. Again, the Corporation has unequivocally lived up to its responsibility of leading the broadcasting and communication industry through quality programming to promote the development and cultural aspirations of Ghana. These responsibilities are guided by a high standard of professionalism and the promotion of national consciousness, loyalty, integrity, self-reliance, and a strong sense of national identity.
However, one would acknowledge that since the introduction of private broadcasting stations, GBC has faced stiff competition from commercial broadcasting. Whilst some have criticised the Corporation for being under the control of government, despite the freedom and independence of the media provided for under Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution, others think GBC’s programmes are conservative, as compared to the liberal or radical style of its competitors. The Corporation now faces the challenge of raising funds to meet its operational expenses, whilst carrying out its public service role. Furthermore, as a result of financial constraints, the Corporation is struggling to retool and keep up with modern broadcasting technology.
Apart from measures being taken to keep its head above water financially and meeting the demands of the audience in terms of programming, Management of the Corporation has also decided to reintroduce the payment of the TV licence fee. We should all give them the needed support to enable the Corporation to be financially sustainable and serve the nation better. After more than 80 years of existence, the question of whether GBC is a state broadcaster, a commercial service broadcaster, or a public service broadcaster is on the lips of many citizens and needs an answer.
Many Ghanaians support the initiative by the State to review the mandate of the corporation and reposition it in the competitive broadcasting media ecosystem, space, and landscape. In spite of the 88-year-journey being bumpy and rough, GBC has performed par excellence. We cannot afford to lose such a strategic national asset. As we climax the 88th birthday of GBC, let us, in a loud, throaty voice, say “Ayekoo” to all those who have been part of this success story.
Cheers! and more cheers to life!