Ali Suraj, Former Organiser of NPP USA chapter
A former organizer for the United States of America chapter of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Alhaji Ali Suraj, has urged politicians to be careful in their dealings with the media.
This is in response to the restoration of licenses of some media houses by the National Communications Authority (NCA).
A number of radio stations including Radio Gold and XYZ were shut down by the National Communications Authority in May 2019.
The NCA explained that the closures were carried out in line with Regulations 65 (1) of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011, L. I. 1991, which states that “a person shall not use a radio frequency without authorization from the authority.”
The radio stations included Radio Gold, Montie FM and Radio XYZ, which were aligned with the opposition National Democratic Congress.
But on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, the NCA approved the grant of a total of One Hundred and Thirty-Three (133) FM radio broadcasting authorizations which include new applications from entities whose FM radio stations were closed down after the 2017 FM Audit as well as existing stations which applied for renewal of their expired FM Radio broadcasting authorizations.
Speaking with Ekourba Gyasi Simpremu on Atinka TV’s morning show, Ghana Nie, Alhaji Ali Suraj was of the belief that if care is not taken, parties in power will suppress media houses that are affiliated with the opposition and this will not help the development of the country.
“We, politicians should be careful of the way we handle issues concerning the media. Because if we don’t, granting of licenses will be based on political affiliations,” he said.
Alhaji Ali Suraj also urged the media to be neutral in their operations, urging presenters to stop attacking politicians in order to avoid being pursued by politicians.