Mr Felix Ofosu Kwakye, the Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, has reaffirmed the President Mahama-led Administration’s commitment to dealing ruthlessly with any person(s) who attacks journalists during the cause of their work.
The Government, he said, took strong exception to activities that tended to endanger the lives of journalists, stressing that it would not condone such attacks on journalists going forward.
“We condemn any form of mistreatment of journalists. Covering events and doing your job to bring the news to the doorstep of Ghanaians should not lead to situations where your life is put in danger, and so, we take a serious view of this practice,” he said.
Mr Kwakye said this at the swearing-in of the newly elected National Executive of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), in Accra, on Friday.
The six-member executive has Mr Albert Kwabena Dwumfour as the President, Ms Rebecca Ekpe, Vice President; Mr Dominic Hlordzi, General Secretary; Mr Suleiman Mustapha, Organising Secretary; Mrs Bertha Badu-Agyei, National Treasurer, and Mr Zadok Kwame Gyesi, Public Affairs Officer.
Mr Kwakye lauded the media’s contribution to Ghana’s democracy, noting that any functional democracy must have a thriving media, which are capable of carry out scrutiny of elected officials and public office holders on behalf of the citizen.
“…Media that one cannot compromise, media that sticks to principle, and media that is committed to helping the development of a country,” he added.
Mr Kwakye indicated the Government’s preparedness to continue to create the necessary environment for journalists to thrive.
He charged the new leadership to work hand-in-glove with the Government to push the developmental agenda of the country forward, adding that as a government it was ready for constructive media criticism to advance the country’s democracy.
“We do not, as a government, expect praise, we do not look forward to praising, we look forward to stringent and strident scrutiny of our actions, we look forward to informed contributions to the national discourse from journalists and media practitioners,” Mr Kwakye said.
“We value criticism and we are not going to act in retribution against you simply because you criticised us.”
Mr Dwumfour, on his part, said the new leadership would continue to protect journalists against attacks by deploying all available strategies including legal, dialogue, education, and activism to address the issue.
“We shall also seek the cooperation of all state and non-state actors in that regard,” he said, adding; “We shall marshal all forces within our power to fight against such attacks.”
GNA
