Chair of the Electoral Commission
Executives of the GJA
Colleague Journalists
Ladies and Gentlemen
It is my utmost pleasure to be here today at the 27th GJA Awards, honoring the outstanding achievements of Ghanaian journalists. First let me commend all my colleagues for your unwavering commitment to this national service – journalism. We are a major part of the architecture of an informed and democratic society. We are the interface between the three arms of Government on one side, and the people on the other side. The depth of understanding of issues, the focus on important issues and the feedback that the governors receive is all to your credit. We are grateful for your tireless efforts.
For the many journalists whose works will be celebrated today, I say Ayekoo.
Yours are the entries that the judges have elected to put on the pedestal as an example to others. They will become the yardstick by which other works are measured and the standard to which future generations will aspire. But many others are doing equally worthy work in various parts of the country who may not have put in entries or gotten selected. We celebrate them too. Keep up the good work.
Some other compatriots are taking the journalism flag of Ghana unto the international stage.
Paa Kwesi Asare of TV3 who won the BBC Komla Dumor Award, Manasseh Azuri who recently won the overall best African Investigative Journalist at the 2023 Norbert Zongo African Prize for Investigative Journalism (PAJI-NZ). and Daniel Dadzie who has now become a part of the BBC Focus on Africa team to mention but a few.
The joy of today’s celebrartion reminds me of the moment I won the Radio program of the year at the CIMG in 2009. It is ecstatic. But as my boss then Bennet Frimpong kept telling me, you are only as good as tomorrow’s show. So, celebrate today but up the game tomorrow. Congratulations once again.
May I also take a moment to applaud the media for the excellent coverage you are giving to the relief efforts going on in the regions affected by the spillage of the Akosombo Dam and in particular the mobilization of support from the public to compliment the national efforts. Citi FM/Radio, GTV, Multimedia Group and all other media stations we see you. This is a testament that journalism gets results. While we share in the pain of our compatriots and celebrate your contribution to compliment efforts to alleviate their pain.
Colleagues, as we take pride in celebrating the positives, permit me to raise some four issues confronting journalism and media at this moment.
Attacks
The phenomenon of attacks and intimidation of journalists and media houses is not abating. Indeed at the Ministry of Information our data suggests that it is worsening. It is a disheartening trend that is becoming a darkening blot on our democratic credentials as a country. Journalists should not have to fear for their safety while doing their jobs. Journalism is a noble and important service to the nation. It is not a crime. I know this because for nearly a decade I woke up every dawn rushed to the station in the wee hours of the morning to serve the nation with information with which various actors could take decisions. My colleagues and I prided ourselves in our service despite the occasional attacks. But today, the trend is worsening.
The key reasons for this growing impunity include the fact that often, the perpetrators do not get punished swiftly and severely. Additionally increased education, that there are legally acceptable ways of seeking redress even in instances when you feel offended by the work of journalists or media, is wanting.
To address some of these, the Ministry of Information on my watch proposed and sought cabinet blessing for the Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety of Journalists. The National Media Commission, the constitutionally mandated bastion of the media was supported to establish an office in 2019 to operate this mechanism. The early success of the office and the mechanism was evident in resolving the incident between our brother Caleb Kuda and operatives of the national security apparatus leading to a major amendment in the operations of SWAT teams at the national security secretariat. The Office was also key in fulfilling their education mandate of the mechanism in16th September 2021with the help of UNESCO.
Additionally, when matters of intimidation and attacks are brought to our attention as a Ministry, we compliment the efforts of the NMC and other stakeholders by making personal reports to the Police or the Ghana Armed Forces for quick redress, publicly calling out the ills and offering support to victims.
A lot more however needs to be done to attain full success in nipping this phenomenon in the bud. That is why we are grateful to the President of the Republic for allocating a new office to the Mechanism for the safety of journalists to bolster its work. That is why we call for support for the NMC so it can do more with the mechanism. That is why I particularly call on our development partners and other stakeholders – don’t just shout and issue statements when there is an incident, proactively support and partner the NMC with resources to succeed in implementing the mechanism.
On our side as a Ministry, we shall do all within our power to ensure that the NMC and the security agencies are supported and given pressure to do that which they are tasked.
I am happy to inform you that in the coming weeks we will be hosting the first accountability forum for the Police CID, the Judicial service and other stakeholders to hold to account those charged with investigating and punishing persons responsible for the several cases we have reported. You have my word as a brother in arms that I will not let down my side of the deal.
Disinformation
But there are other sides of this deal which we must not be shy to raise nor speak to, no matter how unpopular it sounds. And that is my second subject; the growing misinformation and sometimes deliberate disinformation going on our airwaves and online.
If not checked, at the minimum, trust in our cherished profession will soon be totally eroded. At the most, we will not even have a democracy anymore where people can exchange ideas and take decisions based on truth and fact. We run the risk of shifting to a space where our public discourse is started by misinformation and disinformation, twisted narratives, and sometimes total fabrications. If we get into that space, we cannot have any meaningful forward-looking conversation that builds our society. Because any conversation that starts with disinformation evokes misdirected passions and denies us the ability to cogently discuss and build consensus on solutions.
This is a growing trend that I say in all humility and passion that we must all be concerned about. I know some do not like to hear me say this but it is the truth. The Political actors are guilty of spreading misinformation, the general public is guilty spreading it and some sections of the media are increasingly becoming guilty of it. (insert UG study quote)
At a recently organized a National Conference on Disinformation and Misinformation led by my Ministry, a 7-point communique was agreed to by the Political Parties, CSOs, Media and development partners present.
1. The need to combat disinformation while respecting citizens’ rights,
2. The need to invest in research on disinformation and misinformation
3. The need to uphold ethical standards in media work and journalism
4. The need to promote and mainstream fact-checking in our public discourse
5. The need to support quality journalism,
6. The need for enhanced civic education, and
7. The need to encourage security agencies to engage with social media platforms constructively.
Drawing inspiration from the communique and drawing lessons from our own early efforts and advocacy, the Ministry of Information has resolved complete a national action plan to combat misinformation and disinformation and have it signed off by stakeholders before the end of 2023.
Additionally, the Ministry will continue to provide financial support for the Technical Working Group comprising GJA, GIBA, PRINPAG, NMC and Academia that was established at my prompting and is responsible for organizing the Media Capacity Enhancement Program. Providing regular on the job training for practicing journalists is So important because of the sensitive role journalists play in our national life. It is this training that gave me, a person who had previously never trained as a journalist, the skills to practice journalism to the highest levels.
That is why I am committed that while I server as Minister I shall commit resources to support my colleagues all over the nation need or want to benefit from such training.
And to cure the disinformation about this program, let me repeat that it is only only a bursary. And No, the training is not provided by Govt. Neither are the beneficiaries selected by my Ministry. We are only interested in crowding-in funding so that Journalists benefit. I am reliably informed by the Technical Working Group that the next cohort will be organized in Accra in November by UNIMAC. Best wishes to the beneficiaries.
Standards
Ladies and gentlemen one final subject we need to speak about is the subject of media standards. The complaints about egregious media content such as money doubling, promotion of ritual murders, charlatanic advertising, promotion of adult content at inappropriate hours as well as other ethical breaches are matters that we cannot continue to ignore. While we respect and uphold freedoms of expression, it is now obvious that some of our colleagues are taking these freedoms to absurd limits.
That is why I was pleased to hear from the NMC that pursuant to the consultation and MOU signed with stakeholders like GIBA, GJA, BOG and NATSEC on 16th June 2021 the NMC will on Tuesday commence receiving by a hotline, reports of egregious media content. We look forward to the implementation of this and encourage the NMC and NCA to ensure that all stakeholders are fully aligned even as you commence this.
In closing, I want to re-iterate my deepest gratitude to all journalists for the invaluable work, especially during these challenging times. I want to congratulate all who are winning awards and charge you to uphold our high ethical standards.
But I also want to call out 4 issues we shouldn’t play ostrich about. Safety on one hand. And on the other hand the need to fight disinformation, support your capacity enhancement and support the NMC to enforce standards.
While I remain as Minister for this sector I shall provide all I can to support initiatives aimed at responding to these 4 issues. I look forward to the commitment and collaboration of stakeholders and in working together with you all in this endevour.
The days when there was interested in seeing us appear to attacking one another as stakeholders or individuals or media houses should be put behind us. No single entity can successfully win the war against the phenomena impeding the progress of journalism and media practice. Collaboration is what will win us the day.
Congratulations and may the evening’s celebrations be a testament to the contribution of journalism in Ghana and beyond.
