Ghana's 793 FM Stations and a Broadcasting Bill That Never Comes: Who Is Really to Blame?

Ghana's airwaves are bursting at the seams. According to the National Communications Authority's June 2026 figures, the country now has 793 authorised FM radio stations and 170 television authorisations — a combined total of 963 broadcast licences in a nation of approximately 35 million people. For context, Nigeria, with a population more than five times Ghana's, had fewer FM stations than Ghana as far back as 2017. South Africa, an economic giant on the continent, had just 59. The numbers alone tell a damning story, but the real scandal lies in how Ghana got here.

A system built on political patronage, not public interest

The proliferation of broadcasting licences in Ghana did not happen by accident. Both the National Democratic Congress and the New Patriotic Party, across successive administrations, distributed frequencies with what critics describe as breathtaking disregard for industry sustainability or journalistic quality. Frequencies were allocated to political associates, businessmen with party connections, and individuals who lacked the resources to operate viable stations — treating public airwaves as though they were private gifts to be handed out during election seasons.

By 2017, Ghana already had 471 authorised FM stations. By 2023, that figure had ballooned to 747. Today it stands at 793, with only 571 actually on air. The gap between authorised and operational stations is itself evidence of the problem: licences were obtained as tradeable assets, not as commitments to serve communities with quality content.

Attempts to impose discipline on the sector have been bitterly contested — often by the very politicians who now claim to champion media reform. The proposed reduction of FM transmission coverage from 100 kilometres to 45 kilometres, which would have created room for more rational frequency management, faced fierce resistance. Petitions to former Communications Minister Ursula Owusu-Ekuful and the presidency during the Akufo-Addo era went unheeded. The policy landscape instead continued to accommodate more allocations in an already saturated market.

A crackdown in 2017 sanctioned 131 FM station operators, and by October 2019 around 57 stations had reportedly been shut down. High-profile casualties included Radio Gold and Radio XYZ, whose closures sparked fierce public debate about regulatory fairness and political motivation.

Why it matters for Ghana

At the heart of this issue is a question that affects every Ghanaian who consumes news: does having nearly a thousand broadcast outlets make Ghana's democracy stronger, or does it simply create a noisier, less accountable information environment?

Media pluralism — the genuine diversity of voices, ownership and editorial perspectives — is a democratic good. But sheer numerical multiplication of stations does not deliver pluralism if those stations are financially unviable, editorially captured by their political or religious owners, or staffed without adequate professional standards. Quality journalism requires investment. Many of Ghana's hundreds of stations cannot sustain it.

The consequences are visible. Misinformation spreads freely across both traditional and social media platforms. Fabricated stories, health misinformation, ethnic and religious provocation, and deliberate political disinformation have all been amplified through channels that face little effective accountability. Social media platforms — Facebook, TikTok, YouTube — have added further layers of unregulated content, some of it actively harmful.

Ghana has also failed, for nearly two decades, to pass comprehensive broadcasting legislation. Earlier drafts of a broadcasting bill sought to restrict political and religious ownership of stations, limit the number of frequencies any single entity could hold, and require disclosure of beneficial owners. Those provisions threatened powerful interests and faced prolonged resistance. A 2024 draft reportedly relaxed some of the earlier ownership prohibitions — a retreat that reflects the dilemma of asking legislators who benefit from the current system to reform it.

Consistency, not convenience, is what regulation demands

Communications Minister Sam Nartey George has recently signalled intentions to address the sector's disorder, including warnings about politically and religiously affiliated broadcasters. His diagnosis of the problem is widely shared. But credible reform requires more than ministerial statements — it demands the kind of consistent, lawful and politically neutral regulation that Ghana has struggled to deliver across governments of both parties.

Regulation that was considered unacceptable when applied by a previous administration cannot be rehabilitated simply because a different party now holds power. The standard must be the public interest — always — not the political convenience of whoever happens to be in office. Until Ghana enacts and enforces a broadcasting law that places genuine public interest above partisan advantage, the madness of 793 FM stations will likely continue to grow.