NMC Alliance with Telecommunication Companies over Social Media Abuse

I read with a great deal of cynicism the announcement by the Chairman of the National Media Commission, Mr. Kwasi Gyan Apenteng, regarding the proposed collaboration between the Commission and telecommunication companies to check social media abuse on election day. My cynicism is borne on the fact that neither of these two agencies have played significant roles in safeguarding the rights of ordinary Ghanaians.

About 90 % of the time, our airwaves are saturated with mere political talk, which actually constitute exploitation of decent Ghanaians. Media houses fail to refresh the public with real news. Mostly, they bring personalities from the NPP and NDC camps, setting them up to argue. The argument is usually not geared towards any constructive analysis of issues but ridiculous verbal wrangling of what one party has done or has not done. After torturing listeners with baseless debate, they open their phone lines so that uninformed callers can prolong the torture for poor listeners. Occasionally, one gets Mr. Kwaku Baako or Mr. Cameron Duodu and a few such insightful ones to give us analytical perspectives. I do not remember the NMC doing anything to sanitise the airwaves, and the media houses have continued to dope listeners with vulgar politics.

The only beneficiaries in this environment are the telecommunication companies, because the calls help their business. These companies who fail woefully to honour their primary responsibilities are helped in business by media houses. The former perform social responsibilities instead of honouring their primary responsibilities of providing communication services. The NMC and National Communications Authority (NCA) have never sanctioned any service provider for poor or disservice to customers. In fact, even if all subscribers stopped their subscription, the media houses will still keep telecommunication agencies in business.

Majority of Ghanaians have become multiple subscribers due to appalling services from communication service providers. The airwaves are perpetually jammed, creating inconvenience for subscribers. Seven years ago, I labelled MTN MUN – most useless network – and switched to Tigo. At the time, I would not receive phone calls for three days, colleagues, students, family would accuse me of turning off my phone, though as a rule, I do not. When I had enough of MTN’s bogus service, I switched.

When I switched, Tigo was a communication service provider – clear lines, fair charges, smooth traffic. Currently, I am looking for an apt label for the provider, because it has almost surpassed MTN in terrible services. Currently, one of my favourite pastimes is to hold a Tigo line in one hand and call on another Tigo line, only to be told the line I am “trying to reach is either switched off  or out of coverage area”. I make calls which do not go through, yet Tigo would inform me that an amount has been deducted from my account for the duration I spoke. Now, instead of providing us with communication service, Tigo has specialised in selling phone equipment as well as insurance. The sad reality is that all the companies cheat subscribers.

Airtel has not been in business for very long, yet it has joined the bandwagon for poor service. Already, the modem I purchased from them is now a white elephant, because I cannot access the Internet with it. Once I was in their main office in Kumasi, but their Internet service was not accessible. I decided to stick with good old Vodafone simply because I need the Internet for my work. Currently, the new treat Vodafone is dishing out to subscribers is that one bundles a monthly package, but after twenty-four hours, all the data is exhausted. In November, I had to bundle a monthly package twice. I have since heard other customers lamenting about similar treatment.

I have been receiving messages from DSTV that I could pay my subscription fee through phone companies. Tigo is one of them. In September, I paid my bill through yours truly. Every now and then, DSTV interrupts my service to inform me that it did not receive my September payment. Even though Tigo’s system acknowledged the payment and sent me a transmission code, the amount was not forwarded to DSTV. Now, I have to follow up to ensure that Tigo either refunds the money to me or it forwards it to DSTV. Two media bodies strike up a deal, yet they have not designed their network to smoothen transactions, and subscribers suffer. Poor communication service provision is the order of the day in Ghana.

Amidst such woeful performance, the NMC is linking up with these telecommunication companies to check abuse on social media on election day. Jehovah save us! Ghana is in dire straits indeed. Due to cheap popularity, the media houses will not stop the political pairing. God forbids the eventuality, but even if chaos erupts, these houses will still push the political buttons in their studio, just to know who gets the most patronage. Can the intended alliance be reliable?

The biggest challenge comes from the IT systems over which the communication service providers do not have the required mastery. Dell has a remote control service which enables its technicians to handle product issues remotely. When I could not successfully install my Office 2013 on my new Dell machine, I e-mailed Support Services and an Agent responded. She switched to remote service and helped me to fix the problem. There was an incompatibility problem, and she fixed it.

I had the machine in front of me in Ghana, and she accessed it remotely from Canada. When and where necessary, she would instruct me on what to do. When I saw activity I did not understand, I would inquire, and it would be her activity. Now, if such a system told me that it would filter data from subscribers to ensure decency and political correctness before releasing it to public platforms, I would have no qualms about its competency in enforcing that. But this system of ours where DSTV and Tigo cannot ensure a smooth transfer of funds from one to the other, and where all service providers cannot even tell when a subscriber is beyond reach, how and where on earth are they going to be able to develop this sophisticated system which would enable them to filter all messages and ensure that only the ones that would not incite others to destructive acts reach public domain? 

  

I have not an aorta of trust in the communication system of this country, simply because I have been subjected to so much corporate exploitation from the agencies. The conduct of the media houses, their general insensitivity to quality programming offer me no reason to trust in their ability to safeguard the rights of citizens and nation. The NMC and NCA have been complicit in the dubiousness of communication service providers so much that they have eroded my confidence in them.

Yes, I am cynical about all the agencies I have referred to so cannot rely on them to pre-empt chaos on election day, at least, not through technology. But I trust firmly that decent Ghanaian can reach deep down within themselves and gather the strength and willpower required to resist all destructive forces and counter extreme provocation, hooliganism, and destabilising acts with self-control, civilised dialogue and disciplined interaction, because we are intelligent human beings. I firmly believe that we will be able to let our humane tendencies override our bestial inclinations and behave rationally.

In the end, it is not technology but our sense of justice, balanced perception of power and our quest for fairness that will motivate decent acts on election day. Even people who do stomach politics can reason that they need to live and breathe the free air before they can fill their stomachs.

May it happen that we use our heads, our reasoning powers on election day! Let humanity prevail.

May my prayers be answered!