Stop the political noise; sue NCA if aggrieved - Casely-Hayford to Radio Gold

OccupyGhana member Sydney Casely-Hayford has challenged Radio Gold to sue the National Communications Authority (NCA) and stop its complaints after it was shut down.

Elements from the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have decried the state action against Radio Gold, a major pro-opposition media house but Mr. Casely-Hayford said they are “just creating noise.”

“If the NCA have defaulted and have not given Radio Gold sufficient time to respond to what is going on, take the NCA to court and win your fight but let’s not go down this politically dirty road that we are pushing,” he said.

He insists that the law must be made to work despite the complaints.

Management of Radio Gold described the closure of the station as extreme because it had made attempts to satisfy the NCA criteria.

Radio Gold also said it expected that the NCA action “would have been preceded with prior and adequate notification.”

A former flagbearer aspirant of the NDC for example, Sylvester Mensah, accused the government of trying to silence the NDC ahead of the 2020 elections.

But Mr. Casely-Hayford on The Big Issue said: “what the NDC party is doing is undermining the authority of all institutions that come up to play in the country.”

“It is taking this country back in time. It is disrupting or future progress and it is making things too complicated when we are trying to establish a certain rhythm and to be able to go forward.”

“There is nothing wrong if those two stations happen to be affiliates of your political party. It is not the issue. Rather what you should do is to advise them… [to] go to court and fight their fight and win their battle. That will be far more politically grounding,” he said.

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.