Management of Radio Gold has described the closure of the station by the National Communications Authority (NCA) as high-handed.
Though the NCA said the station had been operating without valid authorisations, Radio Gold in a statement said it had tried to rectify this shortcoming on numerous occasions.
“We have made numerous attempts to submit the required documentation to the NCA for the purposes of renewing the frequency authorization, which documentation was inexplicably rejected by the NCA,” the statement signed by its CEO revealed.
Radio Gold was shut down alongside fellow pro-opposition radio station, Radio XYZ.
The NCA in a 2017 audit named Radio XYZ and Radio Gold among over 50 FM stations that were operating against its regulations.
It fined Radio XYZ GHs 4,090,000 in September 2017 for operating with a license that expired on 8th May 2016.
In the report, Radio Gold was fined GHs 61,330,000 for operating with a license that expired on 6th September 2000.
Radio Gold also said it expected that the NCA action “would have been preceded with prior and adequate notification.”
“… the closure of Radio Gold is high-handed and runs contrary to the spirit of engagement that existed between the NCA and the station.”
Management of the station also said that it was “regrettable that Radio Gold was shut down by the NCA at a time the station was providing intermittent live coverage of the press conference by the Council of Elders of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) at its headquarters.”
NCA could have sent a letter
Speaking to Citi News earlier, the Programmes manager of Radio Gold, Richard Agyapong decried the excessive force used by the NCA.
“If the NCA wants us to shut down, they should just send us a letter and we will comply. But, we had heavily armed police officers entering our premises.”
“When I was coming, I saw police cars parked at our gate. I entered and I saw two police Tundras and another vehicle. I mean it’s something I have not experienced in this office since I joined Radio Gold. So really, something like that, you will be a little bit terrified; as if we are operating something dangerous,” he recounted.
“It should tell you a certain kind of state capture is going in.”