A former Director General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, William Ampem-Darko has attacked the National Media Commission (NMC), calling it a “retrogressive” institution.
The Commission was set up with the mandate of registering, regulating and monitoring the activities of media houses in Ghana.
According to him, the NMC is not a progressive institution that can effectively run any public service system in the country, recalling that whilst he was at the helm of affairs at the state broadcaster, the NMC failed on several occasions to assist them when they needed help.
Mr. William Ampem-Darko was speaking on a wide range of issues on Onua 95.1FM’s morning show Yen Nsempa on Thursday.
The host of the morning show, Bright Kwesi Asempa asked him about one thing he would love to see changed, if he were still in charge of the Nation’s broadcaster.
“If I were still at GBC, I will not listen to that institution (NMC) much, because it is a retrogressive institution. They are not progressive to run any public service system. When I was there, they didn’t help us, and rather became ‘Konongo Kaya’ and we had to send them everything we did, but they would not help,” William Ampem-Darko hammered NMC.
The former GBC boss asserted that the institution that is supposed to seek the welfare of media practitioners, “even if journalists are attacked and beaten these days, they don’t do anything. They only sit and watch, but let somebody go and make complaint about you Asempa that you have slander them, they will call you and that is the only time you see them working”.
William Ampem-Darko maintained that the NMC at its current state, is only wasting state resources, but conceded that he does not know if the problem is with the institution or the people who are appointed to run it.
Nonetheless, he would not recommend scrapping of the NMC when he was asked if he thinks that will be appropriate. He rather questioned his host, “what has the NMC done for you?”
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