No GTV transmission in Volta Region
Television and radio transmission from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to the Volta Region has been cut because of the corporation’s indebtedness to the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG).
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The Volta regional office of the corporation is said to be indebted to the ECG to the tune of GH¢600,000.
The situation has led to the closure of the corporation’s installations at Akatsi and Amedzofe which facilitate radio and television transmission in the Volta Region
The indebtedness has arisen because the management of GBC in Accra has directed the corporation’s office in the Volta Region not to use its internally generated funds to settle any indebtedness without authorisation from Accra.
Funds
Rather, the corporation has directed the Volta regional office to transfer all its internally generated funds which could have been used to settle the indebtedness to a central pool in Accra from which monies could be disbursed for any payments in the regions.
The Minister of Communications, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, confirmed the cut in radio and television transmission to the Volta Region at a forum christened ‘Ghana For People (G4P)’ in Ho last Friday.
The theme of the event was: “People Matter, You Matter, Everybody Matters”
The forum was attended by some chiefs, students and a section of the general public.
To overcome such challenges in future, Dr Boamah suggested to the GBC to allow part of the internally generated funds of its branch offices to be kept in the regions to meet their financial obligations.
Impressive performance
He also said the government had posted an impressive performance in the last three years, adding that in spite of the successes, the President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, recognised that there were still challenges to be addressed.
Touching on the achievements of the government, the Communications Minister said the President was not claiming that he had transformed Ghana into a paradise in the last three years, but that some priorities of the people had been met within the time.
Among other achievements, he said, were the inauguration of the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS), the completion of the Eastern Corridor Fibre Optic Project and completion of a community day senior high school at Nkwanta.
For his part, a Deputy Minister of Education, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said to facilitate easy access for the youth in rural areas to seek job opportunities, 120,000 youth would be engaged by the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) next year at an estimated cost of GH¢500 million.
He said the government had given a lifeline package of GH¢3.6 million, obtained from the Export Development and Agricultural Investment Fund (EDAIF) to the Volta Star
Textile Company for it to settle the salary arrears of its 1,200 workers.
The workers closed down the factory and locked out management on condition that they would not reopen it until President Mahama intervened by visiting the factory and they were paid their nine months salary arrears.
Development projects in Volta
The Volta Regional Minister, Ms Helen Adjoa Ntoso, mentioned development projects initiated by the government in the region, stating that some had been completed while others were at various stages of completion.
Ms Ntoso also said G4P was a platform aimed at filling the communication gap between the people and the government, adding that development was taking place in the region, irrespective of its geographical location.
A Deputy Minister of Communications, Mr Felix Kwakye Ofosu, said the achievements of the government were impressive, compared to others recorded by previous governments.
The Deputy Minister of Transport, Mrs Joyce Bawa Muntari, said efforts were being made to decentralise the operations of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Authority (DVLA) to reduce the current drudgery associated with the acquisition of licences and other documents.