President John Dramani Mahama has called for the immediate restoration of broadcast services to 64 radio stations shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA) for regulatory breaches.

In a directive to the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, President Mahama requested a collaboration between the ministry and the NCA to ensure the affected stations resume broadcasting without delay.

This was contained in a release by the Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, today, a few hours after the NCA shut down the stations.

The statement explained that President Mahama believes in the importance of balancing regulatory compliance with media freedom.

Hence, “requiring radio stations to shut down while awaiting the regularization of their authorization could limit the space for expressing such freedoms.”

The release stressed that media outlets play a vital role in democratic societies and should be supported in fulfilling that role.

To that end, the President has also directed the Minister to engage the NCA in setting “a reasonable timeframe within which the affected stations should regularize their authorization”.

The affected stations include Happy FM, Asaase Radio, and Wontumi FM, all based in Accra.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, June 12, the NCA said the enforcement action targets stations that have failed to comply with key provisions of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 1991), specifically Regulations 54 and 56, as well as the terms and conditions attached to their broadcasting authorizations.

The crackdown followed a directive from the Minister for Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, instructing the NCA to apply appropriate sanctions after a recent audit revealed widespread non-compliance within the FM broadcasting sector.

According to the NCA, the enforcement is being rolled out in phases, beginning with stations identified in the Frequency Audit Report.