The former Member of Parliament for Sekondi, Andrew Egyapa Mercer, has described President John Mahama’s recent clemency for the 64 radio stations which were recently shut down by the National Communication Authority (NCA) as a public relations stunt, lacking genuine commitment to press freedom.

Speaking on JoyNews’ Newsfile on Saturday, June 14, Mr. Mercer said the move was more about optics than substance.

“Pure PR, nothing else,” he asserted.

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“Because knowing how our governance system works, I'm not so sure the minister [Samuel Nartey George], especially with respect to the sensitivity of radio station ownership and what has transpired in the past, would take this step without recourse to the presidency.”

He further suggested that President Mahama’s involvement in the matter appeared to be choreographed, aimed at portraying a tolerant image.

“To confirm that indeed, this is nothing but to throw dust in the eyes of the public that Mr. Mahama, the President, is some tolerant president, he is in favour of press freedom... it’s all theatrics and no more,” he said.

Mr. Mercer also disputed claims that only NDC-aligned stations were affected by regulatory closures in 2017, citing the shutdown of First Deputy Speaker Joe Osei Owusu’s station as an example.

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His comment comes after President Mahama directed the Minister for Communications, Digital Technology and Innovation, Samuel Nartey George, to collaborate with the NCA to restore the affected stations without delay, shortly after it was shut down.

In a statement signed by Presidential Spokesperson Felix Kwakye Ofosu, the President underscored the need to balance regulatory compliance with media freedom.

The directive followed a swift enforcement exercise by the NCA, which saw stations including Happy FM, Asaase Radio, and Wontumi FM taken off air for violating provisions of the Electronic Communications Regulations, 2011 (L.I. 1991).

The NCA cited Regulations 54 and 56 and conditions attached to their authorisations as grounds for the shutdown.

The President's statement emphasised that forcing media houses off-air while awaiting regularisation could stifle press freedom in a democratic society.

He also instructed the Communications Ministry to work with the NCA to set a "reasonable timeframe" for the affected stations to rectify their status.

On the back of this, the Communications Minister announced that the government has granted a 30-day grace period to radio stations shut down by the NCA, giving them time to rectify regulatory breaches and resume operations.

Addressing Parliament on Thursday, June 12, Mr. George said the decision followed a directive from President John Mahama earlier in the day, instructing the ministry and the NCA to collaborate in restoring services to the affected media houses.

“Mr. Speaker, a few minutes ago, His Excellency John Mahama directed that the Ministry work with the regulator at the NCA to allow all the affected radio stations some additional time to correct the identified breaches within a defined time frame,” the minister said.

He added that stations that fail to regularise their authorisations within the 30-day period would face formal revocation in accordance with existing regulations.

However, the Minister said as part of what the government calls a more compassionate and democratic approach, all fines that would have been imposed on the stations have been waived.