Court permits GBC to collect TV license

The Fast Track High Court in Accra yesterday gave the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) permission to collect television licence fees.It, however, debarred the state broadcaster from sharing the fees collected with the National Media Commission (NMC), the Ghana
Independent Broadcasters Association (GIBA) and other stakeholders until the final determination of a suit challenging the legality or otherwise of GBC’s decision to share the fees collected.
Per the court’s decision, the fees can be collected any moment.

The fees are as follows: Domestic TV users with one set will pay GH¢36 for a licence annually, instead of the old fee of 30Gp; those who use more than two TV sets will be required to pay GH¢60 for a licence every year.

Fees have also been reviewed upwards for commercial users, such as hotels, from GH¢2 to GH¢3 per month per TV set.
Licensed TV dealers such as repairers will pay GH¢5 per month.
GBC begins collection today
Meanwhile, the GBC will begin the collection of tv licence fees at its offices today (August 11, 2013).

“We are starting the exercise with the employees of the GBC. We want the public to know that GBC staff also pay tv licence fees.

Television owners can pay at all post offices, banks and all offices of the GBC across the country.
“The tv licence logo will also be unveiled and we urge members of the public to make payment at all places where they find the logos,” the Director-General of the GBC, Major Albert Don-Chebe (retd), disclosed this to the Daily Graphic some few hours after the court’s decision.

Directives
The presiding judge, Mr Justice R. B. Batu, gave parties in the case seven days each to file their written submissions to pave the way for a ruling on the substantive case.

Dr Charles Wereko-Brobby, a former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Volta River Authority (VRA), on July 30, 2015, dragged the GBC to court over claims that although it had legislative backing under Section 10 (c) of NLCD 226 to collect television licence fees from owners of television sets, it was not mandated by law to share the money with other stakeholders.

Details of the sharing formula for the TV licence fees to be collected are: 72 per cent to GBC, four per cent to the NMC, four per cent to the Media Development Fund, 15 per cent to GIBA, two per cent to the Film Fund and a further three per cent to the GBC for its management of the licence fees.
The GBC had planned to collect the fees with effect from August 1, 2015 but counsel for the plaintiff, Mr Egbert Faibille Jnr, on July 31, 2015, filed an application for interim injunction to stop the corporation from collecting the fees for onward sharing until the matter was disposed of.

Justify sharing
The court said it was clear the law mandated the GBC to collect television licence fees but the outstanding issue now was whether or not the sharing was justified in law.
It noted that the onus was now on the GBC, the NMC, the GIBA and the Attorney-General to “show which law gives them the right to share”.
It conceded that the GBC would suffer if it was prevented from collecting the fees.
The court declined to direct the plaintiff to sign an undertaking, with the explanation that the GBC would not suffer any loss.

Background
In the substantive case, Dr Wereko-Brobby contends that the GBC “cannot share any moneys received by it with any other entity, whether private or state-owned, as same ought to be deposited in its bank accounts”.
The plaintiff also contends that the NMC, the GIBA and the Attorney-General “have not been appointed by the Minister of Finance by any Legislative Instrument to be a licensing authority(ies) as provided for by NLCD 89, particularly when the GIBA, as an association and/or its individual members, are not statutory corporations”.

He is, accordingly, praying the court to declare that it is illegal for the NMC, the GIBA or any other entity apart from the GBC to be beneficiaries of any TV licence fees collected.
The plaintiff is thus pleading with the court to grant “an order of perpetual injunction restraining the GBC, its officials, assigns, hirelings, privies, servants, agents and/or any person claiming under or through it and howsoever described from commencing and/or resuming the collection of the newly introduced TV licence fees as the formula for sharing same as announced and/or any other formula for sharing same among defendants is unlawful and a violation of LI 226, NRCD 89, as well as NLCD 226”.

The applicant says in December 2014, the Fees and Charges (Amendment) Instrument, 2014 (LI 2216) was passed, by which TV licence fees were increased.
“The said LI 2216 did not appoint the NMC, the GIBA and the Attorney General as licensing authorities, in addition to the GBC, as provided for by Section 13 of NLCD 89 as far as the definition of ‘licensing authority’ in that law is concerned,” it continued.