Collection of Reviewed Television License Fee

It is refreshing news that effective August this year,  owners, importers, retailers and commercial television (TV) users across the country will begin to pay realistic Television Licence Fee.

The  Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), Kabral Blay-Amihere at a recent media event in Accra on the resumption of the collection of the Television Licence Fee said a domestic user with one television set will pay an annual fee of GHc36, while a home with two or more TV sets would pay GHc60.  

Also  a commercial TV user with one set will pay an annual fee of GHc36, while TV repairers will pay an annual fee of GHc60.Retailers with sales outlets of TV will pay an annual fee of GH240. 

Clearly, one can describe the Tv licence new fee regime as the lowest in  African when compared to fees in South Africa, Namibia and Mauritius.  

It would be recalled that the Tv licence fee was introduced about 23 years ago to regulate the installation and use of TV receiving sets in order to generate revenue to support public service broadcasting. 

It was suspended in 2010 because the 30pesewas being charged per annum for domestic users of one TV set, could not even pay for the operational  cost of collecting the fee. One agrees with the Chairman of the NMC, who charged all Ghanaians to buy into the idea of paying TV licence.  

There is no doubt as indicated by the NMC Chairman, that the new TV licence would place the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on a better financial footing, to discharge its public service broadcasting mandate under the 1992 Constitution.

It is gratifying to note that there will be other beneficiaries of the TV  licence fee. They are the Ministry of Communication, the Ghana Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA), the NMC and the Media Development Fund.  

Earlier, some Ghanaians had kicked against the payment of the TV licence fee, with the excuse that the state broadcaster was not offering quality programming.  What we should all understand is that, the TV licence fee is not necessarily meant to improve TV programming but to enable the state broadcaster to be weaned off government subvention and play its role effectively.

Another understanding we should have is that, the fee is also a tax on TV sets meant to raise income to fund the TV, radio and online services of GBC, so that it is not inhibited in any way in the discharge of its duty of disseminating information, educating, entertaining the public.

We should understand that in the UK TV licence fee helps sustain the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and also forms the bulk of its revenue base.  

Indeed, the new fee of GHc36 every year makes it GHc3 every month, which should be affordable to the average Ghanaian.

This should be seen as a duty call to all Ghanaians to be faithful in  paying the Television fee once the collection starts in August so that the state broadcaster can put on its appropriate cloth. 

After all we, equally pay to access channels on pay-per-view networks. But in all these, the most important issue is about  the need for a joint vigorous and sustained public education to ensure effective  collection of the reviewed TV licence fee. 

In other words, it must be a collective effort by all the key players notably  GBC, NMC, GIBA, Ministry of Communication, the Media and Film Funds.There is the need to explore the  numerous options of electronic platforms in the collection of the fee. 

Those that readily come to mind are building the TV licence fee into utility bills, use of banking system or coding the free-to-air TV transmission in Ghana when we go fully digital.  

In demanding faithfulness from all Ghanaians in the payment of the TV licence fee, the NMC and the management of GBC, should not see the public as demanding too much in terms of effective mechanisms for the collection of the fee, proper accountability and professionalism. 

Providing the best of services to the Ghanaian in terms of quality broadcasting should be the yardstick.In this way, we can genuinely make GBC THE Authentic and Trusted Voice of Ghana.