Minister of Communications, Digital Technology and Innovations Samuel Nartey George has announced a sweeping plan to sanitise Ghana’s media space, warning broadcasters to avoid content harmful to public safety or risk losing their licences.
Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, the minister said the government will work with the National Media Commission (NMC) and the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) to enforce strict adherence to broadcasting standards.
“We are going to do a proper clean-up of the media space,” he declared. “If you are engaged in showing things that are inimical to public safety, we’ll serve you a warning. If you fail to heed it, we’ll withdraw your licence. I’ll suspend licences of media houses that do not take into consideration the proper ethics of broadcasting.”
Citing the Kasoa ritual murder case, in which two boys aged 10 and 11 allegedly killed their friend after being influenced by a TV programme promoting money rituals, Sam George questioned why such harmful content is aired during prime viewing hours.
“Why should we expose our children to such content?” he asked.
The minister also condemned the broadcast of sexually explicit material in the afternoons and early evenings, saying it violated the purpose for which broadcast licences were granted.
“You see sexually explicit material being aired on some TV stations as early as 3 pm and 7 pm — that’s not why we gave you the licence authorisation. That’s not information, that’s not education, that’s not entertainment. That’s an abuse of our children, an abuse of the innocence of our children,” he said.
The upcoming cleanup, he added, will ensure media houses operate within ethical guidelines, with sanctions for those who breach the rules, including suspension or revocation of licences.
