Media personality Afua Asantewaa has engaged in a heated dispute with radio host, Kwame Dadzie concerning her disqualification from the Guinness World Records (GWR).
The clash escalated when Dadzie accused her of dishonesty, claiming she concealed the loss of her GWR account login credentials.
In response, Afua Asantewaa strongly criticized Kwame Dadzie for spreading misinformation about her Sing-A-Thon disqualification.
Afua Asantewaa pressed Kwame Dadzie to reveal his information source, but he maintained his stance of protecting the identity until the appropriate time.
“If you will be bold as a journalist to let me know who told you that I received the information prior to Guinness World Record.
“Kwame you have to disclose your source else you’re tarnishing my image. made Tell me the person from my team members,” she added.
The conflict reached its peak during an interview with Mercury Quaye on Hitz FM, where Asantewaa challenged Mr Dadzie to disclose the identity of the person who informed him about her alleged hiding of GWR results.
She emphasized her readiness to address any criticism directed at her and accused Dadzie of tarnishing her reputation.
In defense, Kwame Dadzie stated that upon learning of Asantewaa’s GWR disqualification, he sought confirmation and an interview with her team, but received no response.
He conducted an independent investigation and found that Asantewaa was aware of her disqualification before GWR officially announced it.
“I have no agenda against her, a few weeks ago, one of my colleagues sent her a message but she didn’t respond.
“When the results came from GWR I reached out to one of her team members and asked if they had the information and he said no.
“I did my investigation it proved that… I am a journalist, I don’t want to disclose my source. Afua herself had the information before,” he added.
In response to the escalating tensions and violence in Bawku, Upper East Region, the National Communications Authority (NCA) has announced the closure of four FM radio stations in the area. Bawku FM, Source FM, Zahra FM, and Gumah FM have been shut down effective Saturday, February 24, 2024.
The decision to close the radio stations follows recommendations from the Upper East Regional Security Council, in conjunction with advice from the Ministry of National Security. The NCA stated that the operations of the aforementioned FM stations were deemed to have contributed to the escalation of the Bawku conflict, resulting in loss of lives and property in the region.
In a press release dated February 24, 2024, the NCA cited the “incendiary utterances” made by panelists and presenters on these stations as a factor in exacerbating the conflict. Consequently, the NCA invoked its powers under Section 13(1)(e) of the Electronic Communications Act, 2008 (Act 775), which allows for the suspension or revocation of licenses or frequency authorizations in cases where national security or public interest is at stake.
The closure of the FM stations is intended to mitigate further escalation of tensions and violence in Bawku and its environs. The NCA emphasized that the decision was taken in the interest of public safety and national security.
The shutdown of the radio stations underscores the critical role of media responsibility in conflict-sensitive areas. While freedom of expression is fundamental, it must be exercised responsibly, especially in contexts where tensions are high. The NCA’s action serves as a reminder of the need for media outlets to adhere to ethical standards and refrain from disseminating content that incites violence or exacerbates existing conflicts.
The closure of the FM stations is expected to have an impact on the flow of information in the Bawku area. However, the NCA’s priority is to restore peace and stability, and it is hoped that this measure will contribute to achieving that goal. The affected stations and their stakeholders are urged to cooperate with authorities and adhere to the directives issued by the NCA.
Social innovator and commentator, Bright Simons, has sparked a debate on the role and status of Twi, one of the most widely spoken languages in Ghana.
He claimed in a recent tweet that Twi, traditionally associated with the Akan ethnic group, has transcended its cultural roots and become a common medium of communication for all Ghanaians.
“Controversial but true: ‘Radio Twi’ is no more a cultural asset of the Akans. It has become a pan-Ghanaian ‘social convenience technology’. Native Twi speakers can sometimes not even recognise it. Like waakye, jollof, hiplife or azonto, it is not about authenticity but resonance,” he tweeted.
Simons included images of data on the Twi language to support his claim.
One was an article about Mozilla, a global software company, including Twi in their common voice data system, a project collecting and validating voice data for various languages to improve speech recognition technology.
He also displayed a survey showing that Peace FM, a Twi station, is rated top on the list of radio national ratings, followed by several other Twi stations such as Adom FM, Nhyira FM, and Okay FM.
Simons’ tweet comes at a time when the Ghanaian parliament is set to introduce the use of local languages on the floor of the House, promoting Ghanaian culture and safeguarding it from potential extinction.
According to Order 63 of the new Standing Orders, Members of Parliament (MPs) will be permitted to use any of the local languages, with interpretation and translation provided to ensure understanding by all present.
This initiative, scheduled to commence during the second meeting of the fourth session of the Eighth Parliament, was confirmed by the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Sumana Kingsford Bagbin.
He stated that necessary arrangements, including the provision of translators and appropriate gadgets, would be made to facilitate a seamless implementation. The new measure is expected to be implemented following the Easter break.
The move by the parliament has generated a lot of conversation on which of the about 80 languages in Ghana will be dominant in the House and which one can be added to English as the official language.
Some have argued that Twi, being the most widely spoken and understood language in the country, should be given priority and recognition.
Others have opposed this idea, saying that it would marginalise other languages and ethnic groups.
Bright Simons’ observation undoubtedly adds to the conversation about the Twi language’s dominance and influence in Ghana.
His tweet has elicited mixed reactions from the public, with some agreeing with his view and others challenging it.
The debate over language and identity in Ghana is not new, but it has gained new momentum and relevance in light of the recent developments and trends.
Scientists who study space have found a strange burst of radio waves that took a very long time, about 8 billion years, to travel to our planet Earth. The fast radio burst is a really far away and powerful signal that scientists have seen.
Fast radio bursts are really strong and really quick bursts of radio waves that we don’t know where they come from. The first FRB was found in 2007, and since then, scientists have detected many more of these fast flashes from faraway places in space.
The explosion called FRB 20220610A was very short, lasting less than a millisecond. However, during that very brief time, it released as much energy as the sun emits in 30 years. This information comes from a study published in the journal Science on Thursday.
FRBs are very short bursts of bright radio waves that vanish quickly. This makes it hard to study them.
Radio telescopes, like the ASKAP array in Western Australia, have helped astronomers track fast cosmic bursts. Scientists studying space used a special device called ASKAP to find a Fast Radio Burst (FRB) in June 2022 and figure out where it came from.
“Dr(Study coauthor) said that we were able to find out exactly where the burst came from by using ASKAP’s group of (radio) dishes. ” Stuart Ryder, who is a scientist studying space at Macquarie University in Australia, said in a statement. Afterwards, we used a powerful telescope in Chile, called the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, to look for the galaxy where the signals came from. We found that this galaxy is very old and located at a greater distance compared to other sources of Fast Radio Bursts discovered so far. It is probably situated within a small group of merging galaxies.
The group of researchers found that the burst came from a couple of galaxies that are combining, interacting, and creating new stars. This discovery supports the idea that fast radio bursts may come from magnetars. Magnetars are really powerful things that form when stars explode.
Scientists think that fast radio bursts could help us find out how much stuff there is in the universe by measuring the matter that is missing between galaxies.
Ryan Shannon, a professor at Swinburne University of Technology in Australia, said that when we tally up all the regular stuff in the Universe (like atoms), we see that more than half of it is not where it should be. We believe that the matter that is missing could be in the empty areas between galaxies. However, it might be really hot and spread out, making it impossible to see with regular methods.
Currently, the ways we measure how much the universe weighs don’t match up, which means we might be missing some of the universe.
“According to Shannon, fast radio bursts can detect this charged material. ” Even in very empty space, they are able to detect all the electrons. This helps us determine the amount of matter between the galaxies.
The late Australian astronomer Jean-Pierre Macquart showed in 2020 how we can use fast radio bursts to find missing matter.
J-P found that the further a fast radio burst is, the more spread out gas it shows between the galaxies. Now, people refer to this as the Macquart relation,” Ryder said. Some recent bursts of radio waves were different than what scientists expected them to be. Our measurements show that the Macquart relation is true for more than half of the Universe that we already know about.
Almost 50 quick radio bursts have been located to find where they came from, and about half of them were discovered using ASKAP.
Shannon stated that although the cause behind these powerful bursts of energy is still unknown, the paper confirms that fast radio bursts happen frequently in space. These bursts can help us detect matter in the areas between galaxies and gain a deeper understanding of the Universe’s structure.
Scientists who study space said they believe that new radio telescopes being built in South Africa and Australia will help them find many more fast radio bursts, which are bursts of energy from outer space, even farther away than before.
Shannon said it’s incredible how frequent FRBs are. This shows how good the field can be. You’re not only going to do this for a short time, but you can do it for a very long time. You can create a new map of the universe and use it to find answers to important questions about space.
Media regulator in Burkina Faso has imposed a three-month ban on a French television news channel, alleging the dissemination of false information regarding jihadist violence.
The high council for communication (CSC) accused LCI of making misleading statements, claiming that jihadists were making significant progress while government troops were using local defense force volunteers as cannon fodder to shield themselves from the attacks.
Earlier in April, the government of Ouagadougou expelled journalists from French newspapers Le Monde and Liberation.
Additionally, two other broadcasters, France 24 and Radio France International, have been indefinitely suspended in response to their actions in the country.
A radio personality, Percival Mabasa , a who had criticized officials for corruption, was assassinated in October in Manila.
Philippine authorities have filed murder charges against the country’s prisons chief and others in connection with the assassination of a prominent radio journalist, which attracted international condemnation.
The charges were filed on Monday against suspended Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag, prisons security official Ricardo Zulueta, and other key suspects in the October 3 fatal shooting of Percival Mabasa.
The 63-year-old was killed by two assailants on a motorcycle at the gate of a residential compound in the Las Pinas area of suburban Manila. Mabasa had fiercely criticised Bantag and other officials for alleged corruption and other anomalies.
A joint statement read at a news conference by top justice, interior and police officials said three gang leaders locked up in the country’s largest prison under Bantag’s control were tapped to look for a gunman to kill Mabasa for a 550,000-peso ($9,400) contract.
Philippines Secretary of Interior Benjamin Abalos Jr, right, with Philippines’ Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla, left, during a press conference [Ted Aljibe/AFP]
After the killing, however, the gunman, who was identified by police as Joel Escorial, surrendered in fear after government officials raised a reward for his capture. He then publicly identified an inmate, Jun Villamor, who he said was assigned by detained gang leaders to call him and arrange Mabasa’s killing.
The gang leaders later killed Villamor inside the prison by suffocating him with a plastic bag allegedly on orders of Bantag and Zulueta, officials said.
Eugene Javier, a National Bureau of Investigation agent reading the statement said “Bantag had a clear motive to effect the murders … For Percy Lapid, it was the continued exposé by the latter of the issues against the former on his show, Lapid Fire.”
Bantag has denied any involvement in the killings. He and Zulueta have also been charged for the killing of Villamor. No warrants have been issued yet for their arrests, officials said.
Mabasa, who used the broadcast name Percy Lapid, is among the latest media workers killed in a Southeast Asian country regarded as among the most dangerous for journalists in the world.
‘Good development’
Jonathan De Santos, chairman of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, welcomed the “good development” in the case, but warned there was a long way to go.
“As we have seen it takes a decade or more to secure a conviction,” De Santos told AFP news agency.
Aside from Bantag, Mabasa had also strongly criticised former President Rodrigo Duterte, who oversaw a deadly crackdown on illegal drugs. Duterte ended his turbulent six-year term in June.
Duterte appointed Bantag as Bureau of Corrections chief in 2019 despite pending criminal cases. Bantag had faced charges for a 2016 clash that killed 10 inmates when he was the warden in another detention centre. A court later cleared him.
Nearly 200 journalists have been killed in the country since 1986, when dictator Ferdinand Marcos was overthrown, according to the journalists’ union. The group led a protest on Tuesday night and called on the government to do more to stop the killings.
The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has invoked the Right to Information Law and requested details of radio stations shut down by the National Communications Authority (NCA).
In a letter to the Authority, MFWA demanded a “full list (name of the company, name of the radio station, location and frequency number) of all FM radio stations that were shut down following the 2017 FM spectrum audit and in line with the 2018 decision of the Electronic Communications Tribunal.â€
The letter, which is signed by the Executive Director of the MFWA, Sulemana Braimah, said the request for information was in the exercise of the rights “Article 21(1) (f) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and Section 18 of the Right to Information Act, 2019, (Act 989).â€
It was addressed to the Information Officer of the NCA and copied to the Director General of the NCA, Joe Anokye; and Chairman of the NCA Board, Kwaku Sakyi-Addo.
Apart from the list of radio stations shut down, the request for information also demands the the full list of all authorised FM stations and television stations “as of the second quarter of 2020, indicating the dates of first authorisation, dates of last authorisation renewals, locations, and operational status (on air or off air).â€
The MFWA also is also asking the NCA for “explanation for the recent replacement of your published 2020 second quarter report titled: “List of Authorised VHF-FM Radio Stations in Ghana as it Second Quarter 2020†which contained columns for date of first authorisation and date for last authorisation renewal, with one that now excludes the dates of first authorisation and dates of last authorisation renewals.â€
Making reference to provisions of Act 989, the MFWA said in its request to the NCA that it would be grateful to receive the requested information within Fourteen (14) days of the receipt of the letter.
The NCA was criticized after it shut down a number of FM stations, notably Radio Gold, Montie FM and Radio XYZ, which were aligned with the opposition National Democratic Congress.
Even though the NCA said it had not targeted the opposition media houses, it is yet to publish the list of radio stations it shut down it said it had down.
Disclosures of details on the closed radio stations and others pieces of information are expected to provide greater transparency in the activities of the NCA.
The Right to Information Law was passed in 2019 after almost 20 years of advocacy by the media and civil society organsations.
Already, the Electoral Commission has been dragged to court and compelled by the court to provide information on its procurements to the MP for Ashaiman, Ernest Norgey. The EC had refused to provide information to the MP who had written under the Right to Information Law.
Names of some prominent media personalities in the country are being associated with the new radio station in Ghana, Asaase Radio operating the frequency of 99.5.
On Wednesday, MyNewsGh.com confirmed that former Senior Broadcast Journalist with the Multimedia Group Limited Cyrus S. DeGraft-Johnson is leading a team of seasoned media personalities for the Cantoments based station.
Sources reveal that Mr Cyrus S. DeGraft-Johnson will be the anchor of the station as General Manager with persons with decades of experience in the media landscape providing support roles.
The latest to have been unveiled is award-winning journalist Kwaku Sakyi-Addo who will be hosting a new talk show, “Sunday Nightâ€.
Sakyi-Addo hosted the current affairs shows “Front Page†and “Newsfile†for a combined 16 years on Joy FM. He was also executive producer and host of “Kwaku One-on-Oneâ€, a head-to-head TV interview show on GTV and TV3, for 10 years. He hosted a live talk show, “The Loungeâ€, on Starr FM which was recorded for telecast on GhOne TV from 2016 to 2018.
Another person who is billed to host the brunch time of the urban station is Caroline Sampson formerly of YFM a subsidiary of the Global Media Alliance
Caroline set the tone for her career in the media in 2005 when she ended up as a finalist in the third edition of the Ghanaian reality TV pageant Miss Malaika Ghana.
Aside TV and radio presenting, Caroline has hosted reality TV shows, corporate events, movie premieres and album launches.
She brings to the new station expertise in urban radio and is expected to rival others in the industry.
A former employee of West FM Company Limited in Ho, the Volta regional capital, has caused the closure of the radio station in furtherance of a sale order by the Ho District Court.
The court had issued the order for the sale of the radio station following a suit by the former employee, Komla Addo, who said the station had failed to settle his unpaid salaries while he was working there.
Mr Addo, who was instrumental in getting the station on air, left their employment in December 2018, sources close to the station have said. He had since been trying to recover his unpaid salaries and other monies owed him by the station but to no avail.
The court granted him his plea and issued an order for the sale of the movable and immovable properties of the station.
The order, which was made as far back as April 2019, was appealed by the defendant/debtor. Unfortunately, the court upheld the earlier order.
To this end, the former employee in the company of a bailiff went to paste the order on the premises of the station on Friday, May 8, 2020.
His Worship Robert Addo ordered that all movable and immovable properties belonging to the station, including transmitters, mast, computers, photocopiers, furniture among others, be sold to defray the debt.
Other items affected by the order included the secretarial shop with its contents as well as “any other assets of the defendant/debtor found anywhere.â€
As at the time of filing this story, the station which had gone off most part of the day, had come back on air. It is not clear what could have accounted for the development.
he Ministry of Communications has justified the National Communications Commission’s (NCA) decision to shut down Radio Tongu in Volta Region.
The NCA explains that the shut down was “on the grounds of National Security and in the public interest.â€
They alleged that the station was promoting the agenda of the Homeland Study Group Foundation, a secessionist group in the region.
Dr Charles Wereko Brobbey has accused the government of suppressing press freedom and that the NCA had no right to shut down Radio Tongu on ethical grounds.
But the Deputy Communications Minister George Andah disagrees and says the NCA has the power to shut it down since the station was registered as a community radio station.
“There were reports that we received from the District Security Council complaining about the content of Radio Tongu and what they were communicating was about the Western Togoland movement which is a national security issue. The NCA called a meeting for all the parties involved, the District Security Council were there but the operators of the radio station did not honour the invite. So the decision that was taken at the meeting was based on the information available. So if you have authorization as a community radio and not doing community work then the NCA has every right to act”.
The National Communications Authority (NCA) has revealed the reason Tongu Community Multimedia Network (Radio Tongu) in the Volta Region was shut down following backlash from citizens.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Authority said a group of people petitioned the NCA in 2014 and April 2019 raising concerns about how the community radio was being managed and operated by the Manager, Bestway Zottor.
It further added that the petitioners again on January 9, 2020, wrote to the Authority alleging that Mr Zottor was using the radio station for defamation, causing confusion among churches and for promoting the separatists’ agenda of the Western Togoland movement.
This led to the arrest of the Director of the community radio station, Mr Zottor and the subsequent shut down of the community radio.
Member of Parliament for Ningo-Prampram is calling for an immediate reversal of the actions government took last year, to shutdown radio stations across the country.
According to him, the performance of the media under the Akufo-Addo-led government in the past three years has been compromised.
He therefore called on Ghanaians to rise against these actions by government for a better Ghana.
Speaking at the back of World Radio Day, Sam George said, “My wish today would be to see the reversal of the shutdown of radio stations across the country, an expedited investigation and prosecution of the killers of Ahmed Suale, an end to state intimidation and assault of journalists and a level playing field for all shades of opinion in the country be they political, religious or ethnic.â€
“The World Press Freedom Index and the abysmal performance of Ghana over the past three years in the rankings is the clearest indication that the media space and its handling by government is beset with a growing canker that needs to be curtailed expeditiously. In the words of a leading clergyman in the Republic, there appears to be a sinister force of the prowl. The earlier we all collectively rise against it, the better it would be for us all.†He added
The National Communications Authority in May, 2019, shut down Radio Gold 90.5 FM and Radio XYZ 93.1 FM both based in Accra. Officials of the NCA stormed the premises of the stations with armed security personnel while they were on-air and ordered their immediate closure.
Ghanaian Broadcasters join others in the continent today, Thursday, 13th February 2020 to celebrate World Radio Day.
February 13 is World Radio Day, which celebrates the radio as a way of educating people, providing information, and promoting freedom of expression across cultures.
Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, the Minister of Communications, has said Radio Stations Audit, which was carried out between 2017 and 2019, affected 57 FM stations which were closed down.
She said within the period, out of the 144 identified for various regulatory infractions as directed by the Electronic Communications Tribunal.
Addressing the media when she took her turn at the Meet-the-Press Series in Accra, Mrs. Ursula Owusu Ekuful, said so far, 30 out of the 57 FM stations that were closed down had submitted fresh applications for FM authorization, and 15 of them already processed.
The Minister said the remaining 15 applications were being processed, which included; technical and management reviews as well as the approval of the Board.
On 12th February 2020, The National Communications Authority (NCA) has suspended the operations of Radio Tongu at Sogakope in the Volta Region “on the grounds of National Security and in the public interest.â€
This follows correspondence between the NCA and the Tongu Community Multimedia Network on the management of the station.
On January 15, 2020, the Director of the community radio station based at Sogakope, Bestway Zottor was arrested for allegedly promoting the agenda of the Homeland Study Group Foundation, a secessionist group in the region.
Last month, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Volta Region has closed down a radio station at Dambai in the Krachi East District of the Oti Region over an illegal electricity connection.
The operation conducted on January 8, 2020, revealed that the station, Kanor FM, had illegally connected power from a nearby electricity pole and the station had also been surcharged GH¢38,000.
