Communication Council suspends radio station

Issues controversial warnings

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong in Yaounde

The National Communication Council, NCC, has dropped its regulatory sledge hammer on a Yaounde-based radio station, putting it off the air for a month. Royal FM’s one-month broadcast suspension was accompanied by the suspension of four of the radio station’s journalists for three months each, on grounds of gross unprofessionalism.

The recent sanction was approved by the interim NCC president, Peter Essoka after deliberations which took place on August 14 in Yaounde during the council’s 7th ordinary session.

For the other NCC decisions, Sky One Radio was issued a stern warning relating to their disrespect for journalism ethics and deontology. Going by the decision, one of the radio station’s programme loosely translated as “Remaking reality in the upper chambers of listeners’ parliament”, was at the centre of the warning. In addition, a two-month suspension was meted out to a renowned Sky One Radio broadcaster, Lazare Zambo for failing to value social communication principles in the discharge of his functions. 

Again, several final warning notices were dished out to some media organs: Canal 2 International, Vision 4, Amplitude FM, Sweet FM, Radio des Artistes, and RadioTiemeni Siantou. The audio-visual and radio stations were faulted with persistent violation of Articles 24, 26, 27, 42, and 43 of the December 29, 2006 law relating to advertising of medical institutions, drugs, and their promoters in the media.

However, NCC has on several occasions issued warnings to stations like Canal 2 International with no definite action being taken with respect to advertising drugs.

A council member who opted not to be named told this reporter that the NCC has no legal standing to sanction media organs in relation to drug advertisement. According to the council member, it was needless for the council to have ridiculed itself by issuing another ‘useless’ warning to the stations.

Meanwhile, The Guardian Post gathered that after the sanction, some NCC council members have embarked on a mission to Bafoussam and Bamenda in a bid to sensitise media practitioners on responsible journalism practice. The sensitization seminar is billed for today in Bafoussam while a similar seminar will follow suit in Bamenda.

Several media observers and analysts hold that a similar sensitization mission that was last year staged by the late NCC president, Bishop Befe Ateba to Buea and Douala yielded little or no fruits.