Government will provide infrastructure for state media for digital migration

Government is ready to provide infrastructure for state media to help them migrate into the digital programme, Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Information and Media Relations has announced. He however said the private media would have to provide their own infrastructure and bear the cost involved in the migration process. Mr. Ayariga was interacting with a delegation from the Zambia Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Service, who are in Ghana to understudy Ghana’s digital migration process and other developments in the media landscape. He said the migration into digital programme would help add more value to the activities in the media contents, especially in the electronic media development. Mr. Ayariga told the delegation that Ghana was home to five private television stations and 200 radio stations operating under a liberal environment. He said the constitutions has established a National Media Commission, which oversee the content and daily operations of the media and also provided with the mandate for the appointment of directors of the various state owned media houses. The Information and Media Relations Minister said a National Communication Authority has also been set up with the mandate of issuing licenses to people who are interested in establishing their own radio and television stations and also regulates the airwaves. Mr. Ayariga said government was interested in the creative arts industry and has provided financial assistance for the exploration of new areas to enhance its potentials. The National Television and Film Institute, he said, was also providing quality training for Ghanaians and people from other West African Countries to promote the industry. He said a draft Broadcasting Bill has been submitted to parliament whilst the Right to Information Bill had already been laid in parliament for vetting and approval. The Right to Information Bill, he said, would help citizens to have access to government information and enhance good governance. Mr. Mwansa Kapeya, Kenya’s Deputy Minister of Information and Broadcasting Services, who led the delegation, said they are in the country to learn about the processes that Ghana had put in place towards the migration into the digital programme. “We want to know how you have regulated the media content, the license regime, how it is done and how it is progressing” he said. We are interested in how production is done in the film industry and how cultural activities are infused into the films, as well as how a lot of information from the films are disseminated “Mr. Kapeya added. He said discussions of folk stories on Ghana’s television were educative and important to the people of Zambia, which could be replicated to help educate the youth in Zambia. “We hope to get a lot from Ghana. We know when we get to Zambia we will be smiling”, Mr. Kapeya said.       Source: GNA