Ghana’s state-owned broadcaster, GTV, now sits at the centre of a national controversy that refuses to disappear: Why should Ghanaians pay for TV licences when their taxes already fund the broadcaster’s operations? For decades, GTV has positioned itself as the nation’s mouthpiece, providing coverage of governance, culture, education, national events, and public service programmes. As a public broadcaster, its existence and survival depend heavily on state funding, which means it depends on the pockets of ordinary Ghanaians.
The reality is simple but troubling. GTV’s staff are paid by the state; its operations are supported by allocations from government revenue; and government revenue is collected through the taxes that every Ghanaian contributes. From VAT on goods and services to income tax, communication levies, duties, and fuel taxes, the Ghanaian citizen is already financing the everyday running of the national broadcaster. The Trial News must therefore ask the question that millions of Ghanaians ask quietly: If the taxes we already pay sustain GTV, for what reason should we be charged again under the banner of a TV licence?
The issue becomes even more concerning when GTV’s commercial activities are taken into account. GTV is not merely a public service entity—it is also a commercial broadcaster with a steady stream of advertising revenue. Every day, multinational companies, political organisations, NGOs, telecommunications firms, religious groups, and state institutions pay substantial sums for airtime. This raises even more pressing questions: Where does this money go? What does GTV use its advertising revenue for? Why is a broadcaster that is funded by taxpayers and also earns significant commercial income still demanding fees from the very citizens who keep it alive?
At this point, The Trial News believes a simple but crucial step is overdue: GTV must publicly confirm or deny the extent to which government funding sustains its operations. The national broadcaster must also release a clear, audited annual financial statement showing how much revenue it generates from advertising and other commercial activities. Without this disclosure, the public cannot make an informed judgment about whether a TV licence is necessary, justified, or simply another attempt to extract money from struggling households. Transparency is the only way Ghanaians will understand the true financial state of GTV.
What makes the issue even more striking is that private television stations—TV3, Metro TV, GHOne, Angel TV and many others—carry their own weight. They operate for profit. They pay their staff. They rely on advertisers and investors. And yet, they do not burden the Ghanaian viewer with compulsory fees simply for owning a television. Why then should GTV, a broadcaster already financed by national taxes, be allowed to place an additional financial burden on households that are already fighting to survive economic hardship?
Moreover, if GTV is funded by the state and still allowed to run advertisements for extra revenue, then the station must embrace the competitive environment in which it operates. Ghana’s media space is already saturated with dozens of television stations struggling to survive. The only way forward is for GTV to adopt a competitive, market-minded approach—improving content, modernising programming, and attracting viewers on merit rather than relying on enforced fees. Public funding plus commercial revenue should be more than enough incentive for GTV to stand tall on the strength of its content, not the compulsion of annual licences.
At a time when citizens are battling soaring utility bills, rising school fees, escalating food prices, and a harsh economic climate, pushing TV licence fees feels less like policy and more like insensitivity. What exactly are Ghanaians being asked to pay for? If the government insists on licence fees, then it must clearly state what service is being provided that taxes do not already cover. It must also prove whether government allocations to GTV have decreased, making the licence essential, or whether this fee is simply a duplication of existing funding. Without such clarity, the licence fee appears to be nothing more than another mechanism to squeeze money out of an already burdened population.
The Trial News’ position is clear: as long as GTV continues to receive government funding sourced from taxpayers and earns additional revenue from advertisements, demanding an annual TV licence fee from citizens is unjustifiable. It amounts to double taxation—plain and simple. The Ghanaian public has paid enough. It is now GTV’s turn to account for how it uses the funds it already receives.
Chrys Bachor
Nov 22, 2025 11:01 amTV license is a veiled form of exploitation. Such unjustifiable taxes entrench corruption .