Minister of Information Kojo Oppong Nkrumah
Government, through the Ministry of Information, is collaborating with media professionals, the National Media Commission and other stakeholders to strengthen the fight against discrimination against journalists, and promote media freedom in the country.
The Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, speaking at the ‘Development Partners’ conference on media support programme’ yesterday in Accra lauded the stakeholders for their continued partnership to build a good society for Ghanaians.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah noted that media as the fourth estate of the realm is a major influencer not just for Ghana’s political and governance system but the broader Ghanaian society.
He said government had, since independence, build a free media, adding that despite the occasional sporadic incidents of media attacks and the complaints about media misreportage by various segments of the society, Ghana’s media landscape continues to be generally the envy of many globally.
He bemoaned that several challenges come up in the work of the media, including misreportage, amplification of opinions that are based on limited data, defamation and a feeling of media tyranny by some segments of the society.
Support programmes
The Ministry of Information in 2019 collaborated with the media professionals, stakeholders and academia to come out with support programmes that are most critical to the work of the media
The two support programmes are the Media Capacity Enhancement Programme and the Co-ordinated Mechanism for the safety of journalists. They were designed to create a framework within which academia and practitioners develop and execute training programmes for practicing producers, journalists and editors to enhance their capacity to deliver on their mandate.
According to the Minister, these interventions have yielded some results, and have the potential to aid the media in their work.
Mr Oppong Nkrumah opined that the framework for curriculum developed by stakeholders for the media capacity enhancement programme is also expected to help deal with the gaps in media practice and enhance the media’s contribution to Ghana’s growth and development agenda.
The Minister urged development partners to join efforts with the state in providing complimentary technical and financial support towards the development of the media.
“Your partnership will help in ensuring that the limited impact of these programmes and their true potential is widened to reach all the regions of Ghana, especially in places where they are needed the most and your human capital and your financial resources will go a long way in underwriting the success and impact that these programs can yield,” he noted.
