Minister of State Joseph Harmon last week Thursday regaled the National Assembly with an account of how a former PPP/C administration hijacked the national airwaves by granting licences to family, friends and political allies but at least one of the broadcasters mentioned was unimpressed with his presentation.
Harmon told the House during the debate of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill that the previous administration operated with a mindset that the airwaves belonged to the PPP/C and was to be distributed among its supporters.
Against this background, he stressed that the bill’s requirement that all radio and television broadcasters apply for licences within 30 days of the changes coming into force or face immediate closure of their operations was not about taking away anything but about “breaking the shackles on freedom of expression and giving people a choice of content to listen to.”
