The High Court presided over by Justice Eric Baah has delivered its ruling in favour of the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) in a matter the GIBA sought, among other things, a judicial review in order to quash a decision of the National Communications Authority, NCA.
The CA directed a Minimum Requirement for the Reception of Digital Terrestrial and Satellite Television service published in December 2019, in conformity with the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) Policy developed by the Ministry of Communications and Digitalisation.
The directive sought to block the content of Free-to-Air (FTA) Digital Terrestrial Television broadcasters through the use of a Conditional Access System (CAS).
The Court held that the Conditional or Controlled Access System, which the NCA has made a requirement, for the importation of Television Sets and Set-top-Boxes or Decoders, will enable it impose and collect electronic tax in the form of TV License Fees, in the absence of any substantive or subsidiary Legislation to that effect.
This the ruling said, amounts to a jurisdictional error. Therefore, the provision made for the inclusion of Conditional Access System for Free-to-Air TV receivers was illegal and stands quashed.
The judgement emphasized the need for open and honest engagement with all stakeholders to foster partnerships in formulating policies, not just for the media industry but in all other sectors, especially when policies that affect them are being developed.
It will be recalled that pursuant to the Government of Ghana’s policy of migrating from analogue to digital television transmission, there was the need to review the Standards of television receiving equipment in the country.
The NCA’s announcement that the broadcast industry in Ghana and all Ghanaians would be required to purchase a specific type of decoder or integrated digital TV set meant that all existing free-to-air broadcast signals, which are currently accessed by viewers across the country, would be controlled with a Conditional Access System before anyone could continue watching any broadcast of free-to-air television in Ghana.