Ransford Yaw Gyampo, a professor at the University of Ghana, chastised Oyerepa FM management for bowing to a “suggestion” to cease operations from the Kumasi Traditional Council.
After visiting the Manhyia Palace on Thursday to apologize for remarks made against the Asantehene and his chiefs during an interview on the dangers of small-scale illicit mining, the Kumasi-based station shut down on Friday, August 26.
The Council then requested that the station be shut down before accepting their apology. Prof. Gyampo contends that the radio station’s management should have disregarded this order.
He wrote on Saturday, August 27, “For not doing this, Oyerepa FM and its management are not fit to be counted as part of the Fourth Estate of the Realm for their demonstration of morbid fear.”
“Therefore, any blame for the radio station’s closure should be placed at the door of the weak radio station owners.” According to him, certain chiefs in Ghana uphold the peace and administer justice, particularly in regions where democracy has not flourished.
Nevertheless, he emphasized that rather than issuing the instruction, the Council ought to have denounced the radio station’s proprietors to the National Media Commission (NMC). “Suggesting the closure of a radio station and the owners’ acceptance of the same offends our laws and democratic tenets in the most blatant way possible.”
Due to their respect and immense influence, Prof. Gyampo came to the conclusion that chiefs should not overstep their bounds, especially given the current democratic style of governance. Finally, I will repeat that, despite their difficulties, chiefs are still important and deserving of our attention.
However, they must not go beyond the bounds of their authority and responsibilities by assuming authority over matters that are only the province of the state and the government. In order to remain relevant, they must balance fulfilling their decent traditional-modern responsibilities with enhancing the function of the state.
Link: https://3news.com/you-were-too-weak-gyampo-chides-oyerepa-fm-for-shutting-down/
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