Media Levy Proposal: Context, implications and impact

By Nana Sifa Twum, PhD

In early January 2026, President John Dramani Mahama announced that his administration is considering reforms to Ghana’s outdated TV licence regime, proposing to replace it with a broader public media levy to strengthen funding for public broadcasters. The shift, still under Cabinet deliberation and to be presented to Parliament, is rooted in the belief that the existing licensing framework is insufficient to sustain robust public media operations and that a new levy could help Ghana’s media institutions better fulfil their public-interest mandates.

President Mahama reinforced this view during his visit to GBC, emphasising that the institution’s reach across Ghana’s diverse communities supports national development and must be adequately supported through institutional reforms, including, if necessary, adjustments to constitutional provisions on media freedom and independence to create a more enabling environment.

What Is the Media Levy Proposal?

Under the existing Television Licensing Act (1966), households and commercial entities that own television sets are required to pay an annual TV licence fee, which is modest and limited in scope. President Mahama’s proposal is to amend this law to introduce a public media levy with broader applicability and greater revenue-raising potential. The intention is to provide the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and potentially other public media bodies with a more sustainable and predictable funding source, enabling them to strengthen operations, modernise infrastructure, and invest in content production.

Media analysts argue that a media levy will enable public broadcasters to fulfil their core mandates, informing, educating, and entertaining and if I should add, encouraging, motivating, and teaching citizens, without being overly dependent on irregular government subsidies or the limited fees collected under the archaic TV licence regime.

Why Introduce a Media Levy?

There are several motivating factors behind President Mahama’s drive to overhaul the media funding architecture. Such include

Financial Sustainability of Public Media

GBC and similar institutions have long struggled with constrained budgets, outdated equipment, and insufficient funds for content development. Current TV licence revenues are marginal and do not meet the demands of competitive broadcasting, particularly in a media landscape increasingly driven by digital platforms and multimedia content. A reimagined levy is intended to close this gap.

Modernisation and Expansion

Ghana’s media environment has evolved significantly with the rise of private TV, radio, online, and social media outlets. However, public media often lag behind in technology adoption and talent retention issues that stem in part from weak funding frameworks.

Public media have an essential role in covering national events, educational programming, and rural outreach where commercial incentives are weak. A dedicated levy could underwrite such public interest programming.

From where the President sits, and given what most of us don’t know about the national economic implications of the media levy, coming out with such a laudable proposal is commendable. Any new levy, especially one touching millions of households and businesses, carries broader economic ramifications. These can be examined from both the macro-fiscal and micro-economic perspectives.

The fiscal impact and revenue mobilisation of the proposed media levy require critical assessment. Ghana has been navigating a complex economic landscape, balancing fiscal responsibility with growth-oriented reforms. In 2025 and 2026, Mahama’s government has already pursued several tax policy changes, including abolishing the Electronic Transfer Levy (e-levy) and the COVID-19 Health Recovery Levy, to ease financial burdens on citizens and promote business activity.

While these moves returned billions of cedis to households and firms and sought to stimulate economic activity, they also created revenue shortfalls that the government must offset elsewhere. Abolishing the COVID-19 levy alone is estimated to eliminate roughly GH¢3.7 billion in annual revenue, representing around 2% of total tax revenue in recent years.

In the Ghanaian context, this might be the best solution to the country’s media funding challenges, as the TV licensing model has not been effective over the years.

In this context, a media levy could serve several economic purposes. It would help diversify revenue sources by broadening the tax base through a dedicated media levy that could replace revenue lost from abolished taxes without reintroducing politically unpopular levies such as the e-levy.

It would also reduce reliance on direct public funding. By securing external levy revenues, public media would become less dependent on direct government allocations, which are vulnerable to fiscal constraints, and it would also stimulate the media sector. Overall, stable funding could incentivise investment in technology and content, expanding employment opportunities in journalism, production, and technical fields.

However, it is also essential to weigh the potential downsides, such as a new levy that does not impose additional costs on households and businesses, especially if structured as a broad-based media tax rather than a narrow licence fee. Funding adequacy must be well in focus, as the proposed levy must be carefully calibrated. If it is too low, it may fail to meaningfully support media institutions, and if too high, it becomes regressive or economically burdensome.

Strengthening Public Broadcasting Quality

Public media like GBC have the mandate to provide impartial news, educational programming, and culturally relevant content. Better funding could:

1. Improve news gathering and investigative journalism
2. Upgrade broadcasting technology and transmission capabilities
3. Expand coverage to underserved rural communities
4. Enhance training and retention of media professionals

This could result in a more vibrant media ecosystem capable of competing with private broadcasters, particularly in depth of coverage and public accountability.

Promoting Media Independence

A predictable revenue stream might reduce undue political interference by lessening reliance on ad hoc government budgetary support. However, this depends on how the levy is institutionalised. Mechanisms must be put in place to ensure independence of revenue collection and allocation, lest the levy becomes a tool for political influence. Strengthening constitutional and statutory protections for media freedom, as hinted at by Mahama’s references to reviewing relevant provisions, will be crucial.

Broader Media Sector Effects

The introduction of a levy may also yield positive spillovers: for instance, a boost to digital innovation through stable funding models. Public media might invest more confidently in digital platforms, operational apps, streaming, and online news portals, thereby bolstering their relevance in the digital age and ensuring wider global coverage.

It would also seek to boost content diversity, which is paramount in today’s media space. Funding could support niche and minority-language programming, enhancing representation.

Challenges and Risks

The success of the proposed levy will depend on careful design. Considerable care must be taken when designing the levy collection process. There must be high equity considerations. This is to avoid regressive outcomes. It is critical that low-income households should not bear disproportionate burdens.

Compliance and administrative matters in such levies can, at times, pose challenges. Effective systems for collection and enforcement must be established, potentially requiring partnerships with telecoms, financial institutions, or tax authorities.

President John Mahama’s media levy proposal represents a strategic effort to modernise Ghana’s media financing architecture and enable public broadcasters such as GBC to operate on a more secure and sustainable footing. Set against a backdrop of broad tax reforms aimed at easing economic pressures on citizens and businesses, the levy could help diversify government revenue sources and strengthen Ghana’s public media.

The policy’s success hinges on careful calibration, balancing fiscal needs with equitable cost distribution, safeguarding media independence, and ensuring that the additional funding translates into observable improvements in media quality, professionalism, and service to the public. Done right, the media levy could be a significant step toward a robust and financially stable media landscape that contributes meaningfully to Ghana’s democratic and economic development. Kudos Mr President.

 

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