Entertainment of Wednesday, 3 January 2018
Source: citifmonline.com
2018-01-03
Kwaku Osei Korankye Asiedu
Entertainment analyst and leading team member of Uncle Ebo Whyte’s Roverman Productions, Kwaku Osei Korankye Asiedu, has mooted an idea he says will serve Ghanaians better than the TV Licence Fee.
In an interview with Citi Showbiz, Kwaku Asiedu intimated that the TV Licence Fee was not going to help Ghanaians and creative artistes for that matter.
He has therefore suggested that a law called the ‘Content Law’ be passed to make sure content by creative artistes also gets covered.
“I don’t think this TV Licence fee is going to work. Apart from the fact that its collection will be difficult, it leaves creative artistes at a disadvantaged end because we create the content that the television stations use,” he said.
“I rather wish that a Content Law is passed so that charges are put on every electronic gadget that uses creative content,” Kwaku added.
He explained that charges can also be placed on call credits so that the drudgery of taking these fees is reduced.
Responding to who should be responsible for taking these fees, the Business Development Executive said that he would want the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture to set up a management unit to handle the fund.
“The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture would institute a management for the monies collected and distribute to stakeholders like movie makers, music content owners, radio and TV content providers and every person who creates content for radio and TV,” he stated.
He further noted that creative artistes, radio or TV stations that wish to access the fund would, therefore, have to write a proposal to the ministry.
Kwaku who has made this call in the recent past, has reiterated his position on the matter on the back of the recent report that special courts have been created to deal with people who default in paying the TV Licence Fee.
In the meantime, the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), Dr. Akuffo Annor-Ntow, has told Citi News that he expects the collection of TV licenses to extend to persons who consume Television content via mobile devices and applications.
The Ghana Broadcasting Corporation officially reintroduced the collection of the TV Licence fees in 2015 after years of putting it on hold due to non-payments.
Domestic TV users are to pay between GH¢36 and GH¢60 for one or more TV sets in a household while TV set repairers and sales outlets are to pay an annual sum of between GHc60 to GHc240. Commercial TV operators are to pay GHc36 per annum for each TV set.