The Minister for Information, Honourable Fatimatu Abubakar has bemoaned the practice where the media will only announce alleged violence or attacks on journalists on their various platforms but not make official complaint to the security institutions and other appropriate quarters.
She explained that those announcements may only serve as notice and attract sympathy from the citizens but not secure justice for the journalists.
The Minister therefore, urged the media to officially report to the appropriate authorities for the necessary actions to be taken.
Hon. Abubakar made the observation during a courtesy call on the management of Ghana Web as part of her stakeholder engagement with selected media organizations to explore opportunities for growth.
“We have noted with concern that all the research papers either from the Media Foundation or Center for Democratic Development (CDD) or other sources are stating that in most cases journalists do not report but resort to mentioning issues of attacks on their various platforms. But these just serve as notice to the public”, she reiterated.
She emphasized that appropriate institutions cannot always act because they are not official reports.
The Minister therefore, advised the media to take advantage of the support programmes initiated by the ministry including the established office of the Coordinated Mechanism on the Safety of Journalists (CMSJ) and seek redress.
Hon. Abubakar took the opportunity to invite the media to apply and participate in the training of the 3rd cohort under the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme (MCEP) which is expected to train 100 journalists in June 2024.
She also urged them to take advantage of Ghana being the host of the Regional Office for International Fund for Public Interest Media (IFPIM) and apply for funding to retool and enhance their work.
Hon. Abubakar reminded the media about their responsibility to protect the country and appealed to them to be circumspect in their reportage ahead of the elections in order not to heighten tension and acrimony.
” I want us to be mindful of our responsibility to protect the country considering what is happening in our neighbouring countries. If Ghana is destabilized, we will not have anywhere to go to,” she cautioned.
She assured the media that the Ministry will continue to collaborate with the judiciary to expedite action on reported cases of attacks on journalists to boost confidence in the system.
The Management of Ghana Web welcomed the news about the capacity building support programme of the Ministry and appealed to the Minister to widen the scope to include consider other media staff including human resources, IT and media managers.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)
