National Media Commission

The NMC was set up on July 7, 1993 by an act of the Parliament of Ghana (Act 449) in accordance with
Chapter12 of the 1992 Constitution (NMC Act, 1993). The Commission was set up to promote and ensure freedom
and independence of the media in the country and also to promote responsible journalism. The functions of the
National Media Commission are stated in Article 167a to e of the 1992 Constitution. The functions of the national
media commission are:

 To promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media for mass communication or
information. 
 To take all appropriate measures to ensure the establishment and maintenance of the highest journalistic
standards in the mass media including the investigation, mediation and settlement of complaints made
against or by the press or other mass media. 
 To insulate the state-owned media from governmental control.
 To take measures to ensure that persons responsible for state-owned media afford fair opportunities and
facilities for the presentation of diverging views and dissenting opinions.
 To appoint in consultation with the president the chairman and other members of the governing bodies of
public corporations managing the state-owned media.
 To make regulations by constitutional instruments for the registration of newspapers and other publications,
except that the regulations shall not provide for the exercise of any direction or control over the
professional functions of a person engaged in the production of newspapers or other means of mass
communication.
 To perform such other functions as may be prescribed by law not inconsistent with the Constitution.
Article 166 stipulates that the national media commission should be composed of eighteen members as follows:
166(A). One representative each nominated by:

 The Ghana Bar Association

 The publishers and Owners of the Private press
 The Ghana Association of Writers and the Ghana Library Association
 The Christian group (the National Catholic Secretariat, the Christian Council, and the Ghana Pentecostal
Council)
 The federation of Muslim Council and Ahmadiyya Mission
 The training institutions of journalists and communicator
 The Ghana Advertising Association and the Institute of Public Relations of Ghana
 The Ghana National Association of Teachers
 The National Council on Women and Development
 The Trade Union Congress and
 The Association of Private Broadcasters
166(B). Two representatives nominated by the Ghana Journalist Association
166(C). Three persons nominated by the President and
166(D). Three persons nominated by Parliament
The case of NMC v. A-G involves The National Media Commission (NMC), a constitutional body set up under
article 166 of the Constitution, 1992 to, inter alia, promote and ensure the freedom and independence of the media
for mass communication and information, observed around 1994 and thereafter that the President, purportedly acting
in consultation with certain authorities, was appointing chairmen, chief executives and other members of the
governing bodies of public corporations managing the state-owned media, namely the New Times Corporation
(NTC), the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Graphic Corporation (GC) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation
(GBC). The President was alleged to be exercising such powers of appointment under article 195(1) of the
Constitution, 1992. the President, purportedly acting in consultation with certain authorities, was appointing
chairmen, chief executives and other members of the governing bodies of public corporations managing the state-
owned media, namely the New Times Corporation (NTC), the Ghana News Agency (GNA), the Graphic
Corporation (GC) and the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC). The President was alleged to be exercising such
powers of appointment under article 195(1) of the Constitution, 1992. The National Media Commission which took
the position that it was the proper authority to make such appointments in consultation with the President, submitted
a memorandum to the Attorney-General protesting at the appointments made by the President. This thereby raised
the issues below:

Whether or not the executive has the power to appoint person into the NMC.

The NMC issued a writ in the Supreme Court for a declaration inter alia that: (1) on a true and proper construction
of the Constitution, 1992 and specifically of articles 168 and 195(1) thereof, the power to appoint the chairmen and
other members of the governing bodies of public corporations managing the state-owned media including the chief
executives who were members at such governing bodies, was vested exclusively in the NMC acting in consultation
with the President and not in the President, either acting alone or in consultation with any other person or authority.

whether or not the appoints made by the president were valid

On a true and proper interpretation of the provision of article 168 of the Constitution, 1992 the authority to appoint
the chairmen and other members of the governing bodies of public corporations managing the state-owned media,
including the chief executives who are members of such governing bodies, was exclusively the National Media
Commission acting in consultation with the President. The language of article 168 was so plain and unambiguous
that it meant nothing more than what it said. Further, the provision accorded with the overall objective of securing
the independence and freedom of those public corporations from governmental control, and to interpret it otherwise
would not only be doing violence to the language of the article but also subverting the intentions of the framers of
the Constitution, 1992. By virtue of the provision of article 297(a) of the Constitution, 1992, it was clearly the
authority which had power to appoint a person to hold or to act in an office in the public service that had the power
to confirm or to withdraw the said appointment or take disciplinary measures over him or do both. In the
circumstance it was the National Media Commission acting in consultation with the President that was entitled to
exercise the powers set out in article 297(a) of the Constitution, 1992 in relation to any such chairmen, chief
executives and other members of the governing bodies of such public corporations managing the state-owned media.

In conclusion, the independence of the NMC is exhibited in the case of NMC v A-G in that the NMC has the sole
power to appoint their own members in consultation with the president which means that it is not the job of the
President to appoint the members of the NMC. The nmc has the power to appoint, discipline and remove its
members which is seen as one of their functions which is conferred on them by Article 168 of the 1992 Constitution.