By Tabora Bojang
Public utilities regulator Pura has said it has got the backing of the Minister of Information to revoke licenses of radio stations which failed to regularise.
The regulator said it has since issued notice of intention to revoke the licenses of about 80 percent of radio stations whose broadcasting licenses have expired and failed to seek renewal.
It said the affected radios were also asked to give reasons why the Authority should not go ahead to revoke their licenses before July 10th 2024.
“Following this notification, we have now received a lot of applications and representations from affected entities and we are going to review their applications and make a decision. But there are others that did not respond or send any representation and I am here to inform them that we have got the approval of the Minister of Information to revoke their licenses,” Pura’s director of licensing and enforcement, Emma Mendy, said at a press conference yesterday.
She said the law requires that broadcasting entities have to apply for renewal of their licenses at least three months before expiration, adding that many stations have their licenses expired since 2019. “We could have gone ahead and enforced the law by revoking their licenses but we want to be a supportive regulator. So, we followed it up with several notices and reminders but there are some that are still not complying and we therefore have to act as dictated by the law,” Ms Mendy added.
According to Pura, the affected stations yet to respond are: Dego FM, Sky FM, Malegen FM, City Limits Radio, Al-Falah FM, Sahel FM, Nexus FM, Radio Banjul, Capital FM and Janneh-Koto FM.
