Press Freedom Day Marked

Ransford Tetteh (left) and Kabral Blay Amihere (middle) being assisted to hoist the GJA flag with John Tia Akologu (extreme right ) ready to hoist Ghana flag

By William Yaw Owusu

Tuesday May 4, 2010
This years’ World Press Freedom Day was marked yesterday in Accra with a passionate appeal to government to step up efforts to pass the Right to Information (RTI) Bill into law.

Various speakers at the function however said the Bill, in its present state, would not enhance the democratic dispensation to serve the development interests of the nation as well as satisfy fully the provisions of Article 21 of the 1992 Constitution.

The Press Freedom Day was celebrated under the theme, “Freedom of Information: The right to know” and carried live on Ghana Television (GTV).

Ghana is currently ranked number one in Africa and 27th in the world, according to Reporters Without Borders, which monitors press and media freedom in the world.
Speaker upon speaker stressed the need for legislators to facilitate the passage of the RTI Bill, but they noted that it should be scrutinized properly in order to get a suitable law for the country.

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) President, Ransford Tetteh set the tone at the well-attended ceremony at the Ghana International Press Center when he appealed to Parliament not to rush into passing the Bill in its current state but rather engage civil society and other stakeholders to ensure that “we have a law that is in accordance with international standards and helps to promote transparency and accountability.”

Mr. Tetteh said a credible Freedom of Information Law and Broadcasting Law when fully implemented would lead to best practices and compel the media to promote quality in the dissemination of information.

Nana Oye Lithur, Coordinator of the Right to Information Coalition said, “It has taken us about six years to have these Bills tabled before Parliament, but our position is that the Bill, when passed in this state, would not serve the interest of the nation.”

She said there are portions in the Bill that needed to be straightened before passage to ensure that Article 21 of the Constitution is fully realized.

Mrs. Lithur mentioned that the Bill should be able to propose the appointment an independent commissioner to implement the provisions as against the present provision whereby the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice has the responsibility to implement the law in order to prevent conflict of interest.

“Ghanaians should take interest in this Bill and contribute towards its passage and structures to ensure that we can access information, which must first be put in place,” she emphasized.

A representative of Private Newspapers Association of Ghana (PRINPAG) said, “Whilst we are eager to see the RTI Law come into force we are not willing to accept one riddled with many potholes that are likely to make the law ineffective.”

A representative of the Friederich Ebert Foundation called on stakeholders to tackle contentious issues in the Bill before its passage in order to safeguard the public’s right to know.

Vicky Wereko Andoh, President of the Institute of the Public Relations Ghana revealed that the right to know would be beneficial for governance and needed to be pursued vigorously.

The Acting United Nations Resident Representative commended Ghana for its vibrant media, saying the right to information is a necessity for good governance.

Professor Kwame Karikari, who is a leading member of an Advocacy Committee that is pushing for a Broadcasting Law, called on the government to facilitate the process of enacting a broadcasting law to bring about order and professionalism in the broadcasting industry.

Chief P.A. Crystal-Djirackor, Vice President of Ghana Broadcasters Association said the draft broadcasting law should be open to dialogue to make room for emerging technology.

Kojo Oppong of the Ghana Community Radio Network said the right to know cannot be a luxury but rather a necessity which the government must make it possible for the ordinary people.

William Ampem-Darko, Director General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) noted, “The anachronistic GBC Act of 1968 must be reviewed so that we can play a very effective role. GBC is for the public and not the megaphone of any pressure group.”

The Minister of Information, John Tia Akologu, who was the guest of honour, said the RTI Bill represents an important instrument for the public to hold the government and other actors accountable.”

He disclosed that the government is committed to ensuring that both the RTI Bill and the Broadcasting Bill are passed into law to inspire the media to ‘qualitative journalism’.

Kabral Blay-Amihere, Chairman of the National Media Commission (NMC), which has oversight responsibility over the media, mentioned that his outfit was faced with numerous challenges which had made supervision difficult.

He said currently the NMC does not have computers and internet facilities to enable them to do proper monitoring of the media landscape.

Mr. Blay-Amihere, who was the Chairman of the occasion, also said there is undue politicization and polarization of the media, stressing that standards in the country had fallen.

“The commission is beset with complex issues such as how to deal with pornography and hate speeches in the media,” he stressed.

Alsos see: www.dailyguideghana.com